


King & Companion

by MilayaMilenZeal, Night_the_Dragon



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-06 11:59:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 49,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13410798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_the_Dragon/pseuds/Night_the_Dragon
Summary: Prompto, a wolf shifter, gets found by Noctis in his time of need. The pair quickly bond, but will it become something more?





	1. Chapter 1

‘ _A-ah! Momma, wait up!_ ’ a little blonde pup yelped as he tried to keep up with his pack. They were running from hunters, the humans having been following them for days now.

‘ _Come on, Prompto! They’re going to catch us!_ ’ his mother warned, hurrying back to him and nudging him along before dashing ahead to the rest of the pack. As Prompto tried desperately to catch up, he suddenly tripped, hitting the forest floor with a pained yip, but when he scrabbled to his paws to try and run after them, he could only watch helplessly as his pack ran off without him.

The little pup whimpered, but as soon as he heard the hunters approaching, he dashed into the underbrush, where he hid as they got closer. Prompto suppressed his terrified whimpers as best as he could, waiting until the hunters had gotten out of earshot to start crying. He whined and cried, terrified that he was alone, with none of his pack to help or care for him. The blonde was still too young to be on his own, and he didn’t even _want_ to be alone, for that matter.

As the small pup briefly paused his crying to sniffle, his ears picked up a sound he vaguely recognized; that of human boots crunching against the leaves that littered the forest floor. A terrified whimper escaped Prompto unbidden, and he hunkered down against the roots of the bush he was hiding in, whining uncontrollably. When the sound stopped, Prompto was able to breathe…

That is until the sound started again, and this time getting closer to him. Not wanting to be captured, the blonde figured it would be best to run at this point, and with a fearful noise, he bolted from the bush. However, before he could get far, he found himself grabbed by the scruff of his neck and pulled backward. Prompto squealed in terror, his ears going flat against his head and his tail tucking between his legs as he struggled to escape the grasp on his scruff.

“Easy, there, easy, little one…” a slightly gruff voice murmured, which was followed by gentle fingers sliding along his head and scratching behind his ears. Against his will, the pup slowly stopped struggling, but he still whimpered and whined fearfully.

“It’s okay… Sssh… I’m not going to hurt you…” the same voice murmured as the touch moved from his head to move along his back all the way to his tail. And this gentle motion repeated over and over. Prompto’s body began to relax, much to the blonde’s dismay, and he tried to look at his captor, squirming in the grasp on his scruff.

The person holding him down didn’t _look_ like a hunter; dressed in pitch black clothes, matching his ebony hair. He watched the small pup with dark, steely blue eyes that regarded him gently. “There we go…” he murmured softly, gently running his fingers along the pup’s head. “Where’s your mom, little one?”

‘ _…W…with my pack… Hunters were after us, a-and—_ ’ the blonde whimpered hesitantly, but was cut off when he heard agonized and terrified howls and cries in the direction his pack had gone. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he whimpered miserably, knowing the hunters had caught up to them.

The man looked in the direction of the howls and frowned. “…”

Instead of saying anything, though, he moved his arm and scooped the pup up along, resting him along his clothed arm as he slowly stood up, still scratching him behind his ear. Prompto trembled against the man, beginning to sob. He knew he was alone for sure now, as his whole pack had been killed, based off the silence that soon followed after as the man headed towards the source of the noise. As he walked, the man continued to gently rub along his head. It took only a few minutes for him to reach the area, but he swiftly placed his hand over the pup’s eyes.

The blonde pawed briefly at the hand over his eyes with a small whine, but soon stopped, realizing he didn’t want to see his dead pack members, let alone his mother. A set of cold laughs resounded through the air, as the hunters laughed and joked about how easy this hunt had been. And all the while, the man holding Prompto in his arms remained silent as he used his thumb to rub along the pup’s cheek.

“…”

But after listening to the hunters’ taunts for a little longer, the man turned around and crouched down, setting the pup down on the ground, under a small bush to the side. “Stay here… okay?” he whispered softly. “I’ll be right back… I promise…”

‘ _O…okay…_ ’ Prompto stuttered, nodding quietly as he hunkered down in the bush. The man gently ran his fingers along the pup’s head, before he stood up and walked in the direction of the hunters. And then, without warning, he hopped down into the clearing. The blonde gaped at the sight, wondering just what this man was thinking. Didn’t he realize how dangerous hunters are?!

No sooner had he thought that, there was a loud bang from the discharge of a gun—followed shortly by a scream of fear. And as more gunshots and screams followed the first discharge, a third sound joined it; a sort of furious hissing growl.

Within only a few minutes, though, everything fell silent, once more. Prompto whimpered quietly, wondering if the man was okay. Just then, the man suddenly jumped back up from the clearing, quietly wiping something from his mouth as he walked back to the small pup. The blonde watched him worriedly, his bright blue eyes curious.

When he spotted the look, the man smiled softly and crouched down by his side. “It’s okay…” he murmured, reaching out and scratching the pup’s ear. “They won’t hurt you, or anyone else ever again…”

Prompto leaned into the touch now, already finding himself beginning to trust this man. His mother had taught him to never trust humans, but this man couldn’t be human. Not with how he had obviously killed those hunters on his own. He finally had to ask, though.

‘ _Who…who are you…?_ ’ he asked softly.

The man smiled in return and said, “My name is Noctis. What’s yours?”

‘ _Prompto…_ ’ the pup whispered shyly. ‘ _Y…you’re not human, are you?_ ’

The man’s expression sobered for a brief moment before he gave another, small smile as he shook his head. “No… At least…not anymore…” he admitted. He waited for a moment, before asking, “Does that bother you?”

Prompto shook his head, now comforted by the news that Noctis wasn’t human. Humans were the most dangerous to him. Now pressing into the raven’s touch, the blonde smiled a little. ‘ _What are you, then?_ ’ he asked, looking up at Noctis with his bright blue eyes.

The innocent question made Noctis hum softly, before answering. “I’m a Nightwalker. Not sure if you’ve ever heard of those, though…”

‘ _Uh-uh,_ ’ the blonde replied.

“Haha… I figured. Probably for the better…” Noctis said with a chuckle as he lowered his other hand. “C’mon…let’s get you somewhere safe, okay?”

‘ _…Can I stay with you, Noctis…?_ ’ Prompto asked nervously when he was picked up. He didn’t want to be alone, and this Nightwalker had been so nice to him already.

This question earned him a curious look from the Nightwalker before the man chuckled. “Much as I’d want to…fairly sure Iggy will get on my case about keeping pets…particularly Shifters.”

‘ _But…I dun wanna be alone…_ ’ the pup whimpered, sniffling.

“Hey now… don’t start the waterworks now…” Noctis warned gently. “You’re only making this harder for me…” Prompto whimpered pitifully, pouting miserably as he looked at Noctis. In turn, Noctis bit down on his lip, before he groaned. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk to Specs… Just…stop looking at me like that, will ya?”

‘ _You mean it?!_ ’ the blonde yipped, wagging his tail excitedly.

“Yeah, I mean it…so settle down, kay?” Noctis chuckled.

‘ _Thank you!_ ’ Prompto squeaked, nuzzling himself against Noctis.

The gesture made the Nightwalker chuckle warmly, even as he pushed away a few branches overhead, ducking under the next batch and steadily leaving the forest for the less populated areas. However, as he looked off to the horizon, he frowned.

“…daybreak’s coming…” he murmured softly.

‘ _What’s wrong with that?_ ’ the pup questioned, confused. But Noctis didn’t reply; instead, he adjusted his hold on Prompto and began to jog, taking care not to jostle the small pup too much. Prompto went quiet at the lack of response, but he stayed still in the Nightwalker’s hold regardless.

After almost five minutes of nonstop running, Noctis finally cleared the forest. And just beyond the tree line, down the small hill, was a dark black object that Prompto vaguely recognized as a “car” (or “moving death machines”, as his father had called them), with a man leaning up against. As they approached, however, Prompto realized the man was human, based upon his scent, and he squealed, trembling in Noctis’s hold.

“Easy…that’s just Iggy…” Noctis whispered softly as he approached the vehicle.

And as he did, the sandy blonde human frowned from behind his glasses. “Noct, just what did you bring back this time?”

“Not now, Ignis, the Nightwalker almost hissed out. “Daybreak.”

“Right…apologies,” the man—Ignis—said as he opened the door to the back of the car.

And once he had, Noctis stepped inside, not even looking up as the door was shut behind him, plunging the small area into pitch-blackness.

‘ _Why’s it so dark?_ ’ Prompto whimpered.

“Ah, sorry…” came the quick apology, before Noctis flicked on some soft lights that provided just enough light to be able to see. “I like to nap in the back… Works easier when it’s dark.”

‘ _That makes sense,_ ’ the blonde nodded, wagging his tail a little, but then he stopped, tucking his tail slightly. ‘ _Who’s the human from earlier? I’m scared of humans…_ ’

“Don’t worry…Iggy’s okay. Little grumpy, but he’s okay.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” the human’s voice called out from the front of the vehicle, which made Noctis chuckle.

‘ _He sounds grumpy,_ ’ Prompto giggled. Noctis smiled at the quip, reaching out to gently scratch Prompto behind his ear.

“Well?” Ignis’s voice called out, and Noctis sighed.

“He’s got no one else, Ignis…hunters,” he stated solemnly. “So I’m taking him with us.”

“Noct, need I remind you that you are still speaking about a wild animal?”

“No, and I don’t care.”

‘ _I’m not bad!_ ’ the blonde protested, pouting. This outburst was met with a soft pat on the head from Noctis.

“Noct, you know what the council thinks of creatures… Shifters in particular,” Ignis continued.

“Again, I don’t care. He’s staying and that’s that.”

Silence followed the resolute statement before there was a heavy sigh. “Very well. But he’s your responsibility, Noct.”

“Yes, mother,” the Nightwalker said sarcastically.

“Mum’s the word,” came the casual chuckle, before the car roared briefly and began to drive off.

‘ _…Ignis is weird,_ ’ Prompto snickered. Noctis chuckled in response, rubbing Prompto’s head softly even as he toed off his shoes. Once they were gone, he turned around, and laid himself down on the backseat, holding Prompto in his lap gently.

‘ _I’m glad you found me, Noctis,_ ’ the pup mumbled tiredly as he yawned. The night’s events had caught up with him, and he was exhausted.

Smiling, the Nightwalker rested his hand on the small wolf’s back. “Get some rest, Prom…we’ll be home before you know it…”

Prompto gave a pleased sound at the thought of having a home again, as well as from hearing the nickname. ‘ _Kay…_ ’ he whispered, before curling up in Noctis’s lap, falling asleep soon after.

Noctis smiled as the small shifter fell asleep on his lap. After watching him for a little longer, gently rubbing his back, he put his hand behind his head after flicking off the light. He figured he could get some sleep of his own in before they arrived.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Noctis.”

Groaning, the Nightwalker blinked open his eye slowly. “…hm?”

Ignis merely chuckled from where he stood by the entrance of the car. “We’ve arrived.”

“Hmm…already?” Noctis murmured, yawning, before he moved over and clambered out of the car. As he stood up, he adjusted his hold on Prompto, holding him close against his chest.

The blonde whined a bit at the motion, before waking up with a whiny yawn. ‘ _Where are we…?_ ’ he asked sleepily.

“We’re home,” Noctis said simply, smiling warmly as he moved his finger along the wolf’s head. Prompto raised his head, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, before looking around curiously.

The surrounding area was dimly lit; the lamps providing only just enough light to let one see where one was going. There were other vehicles in the room, too, so Prompto figured this was just a place where humans kept their cars, since there didn’t appear to be anything else.

“You wanna walk yourself, or you fine where you are?” Noctis asked with a chuckle.

‘ _I don’t wanna fall behind again…_ ’ the pup whimpered, remembering that that was how he lost his pack.

“Sssh…it’s okay…” Noctis assured him, gently rubbing his back to soothe him. Prompto calmed quickly from the soothing touch, pressing himself against Noctis’s chest, enjoying his warmth as Ignis began to lead them somewhere.

The hallways they walked through were properly lit, even though the walls were painted in black with only the occasional sliver of silver in between. Despite how Ignis seemed to be leading the way, Noctis didn’t seem to need it.

Finally, they arrived at a doorway. “Need I prepare some food for your new… ‘pet’?”

“He’s not a ‘pet’, Ignis,” Noctis pointed out firmly.

“Right… Apologies.”

‘ _What’s a ‘pet’?_ ’ the blonde asked, confused. He’d never heard the word before.

Noctis sighed softly. “I’ll explain later…do you want some food, Prom?” Before Prompto could reply, though, his stomach growled, answering the question.

Noctis laughed at that, and even Ignis couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped him. “Point taken. I’ll be back later.”

“Right, thanks, Iggy.”

Nodding briefly, Noctis then turned to the door and pushed it open, walking into the room as Ignis walked off.

The room was just as dark as the rest of the building, but Noctis flicked on the light to let Prompto see. There was a lot in the room that Prompto had no idea of what they were, but what drew his attention the most was the giant object in the middle, which appeared to be very soft.

Which, turns out, it was, as Noctis put Prompto down on it…and he almost sank down into the object.

‘ _So soft!_ ’ the pup squealed, curling up into a ball on it with a giggle. ‘ _What is this??_ ’

Noctis laughed as he climbed on after kicking off his shoes. “It’s called a ‘bed’. This is where we sleep,” he explained.

‘ _You sleep in a lot of places, huh?_ ’ Prompto guessed with a toothy grin as he scrabbled into Noctis’s lap again.

“What can I say?” the Nightwalker chuckled, petting the pup as he settled. “Naps are nice.”

The blonde relaxed at the comforting touch, his tail slowly wagging. ‘ _They are,_ ’ he agreed. As he lay in Noctis’s lap, though, he remembered how Ignis had tried to argue his staying with the raven. ‘ _…Noctis?_ ’

“Hm?”

‘ _Can I stay forever? I don’t ever wanna leave…_ ’

Noctis blinked, twice, before he smiled. “Sure.”

‘ _Really?! Thank you thank you thank you!!_ ’ Prompto cheered, jumping up and licking the Nightwalker’s cheek gratefully.

“Hahaha! Okay, okay! I get it! Easy!” Noctis laughed, ruffling the pup’s head. The blonde squeaked in surprise at the ruffling, before settling against his savior.

‘ _I like you a lot, Noctis. You make me feel safe, and you didn’t hurt me when you found me,_ ’ Prompto smiled happily.

“Glad to know I’ve made a good enough impression,” Noctis said with a smile, before he lifted Prompto up and set him down on one of the bed’s pillows—which the pup literally sank into. Prompto gave a startled squeal, somehow managing to squirm his way out, before he pouted at Noctis.

‘ _I liked your lap better…_ ’

This made the Nightwalker laugh. “Well, give me a little bit, okay? Unlike Shifters, _we_ actually need to do one more thing before going to sleep,” he said as he climbed off the bed. The pup watched from the bed’s pillow as Noctis walked over to a large wooden part of the wall, before parting the wood in two parts.

‘ _Whoa…!_ ’ he gasped. ‘ _What is that?_ ’

A soft hum escaped the Nightwalker as he looked over, before he seemed to realize what the pup was so excited about. With a smile, he said, “It’s a closet. We keep our clothes in here.”

Before Prompto could ask about that, Noctis reached for the bottom of his shirt and lifted the cloth over his head, tossing it to the side without really looking where it went. Prompto wasn’t bothered by this, but he was surprised by how pale the raven was. Instead of asking about it, though, he had another question.

‘ _I’ll have to start wearing clothes when I shift to my human form, right?_ ’ he questioned.

“I would assume so,” Noctis said as he slipped out of his pants, before he reached into the closet and pulled out some easy clothes. “People can be pretty picky about too much skin being shown…”

‘ _Oh…_ ’ the blonde uttered, wrinkling his nose a little, before he blinked. ‘ _I don’t have any clothes, though…_ ’

“Don’t worry. Pretty sure Iggy will have some for you by nightfall,” Noctis assured him with a chuckle as he tugged the loose shirt on. Before Prompto could reply, though, there was a knock on the door they had come in from, making his ears twitch.

“It’s open,” Noctis said without even looking up.

And shortly after, Ignis entered, carrying a tray with him. Prompto’s nose twitched at the new but tasty smells coming from the tray, and his bright blue eyes lit up.

‘ _That smells really good!_ ’ he barked excitedly, bouncing on the pillow a little.

Though Ignis’ expression didn’t show anything, the twitch on his mouth belied his amusement as he moved to the bed and put the tray down calmly. “Seems you really were hungry, hm?”

‘ _Even Momma’s fresh catches didn’t smell this good!_ ’ the blonde replied, looking to see the food on the tray. He saw meat on there, but it smelled hot, like it had been in a fire.

“Careful, Prom,” Noctis chuckled. “It’s hot.”

‘ _What’d he do to it? It smells better than a fresh catch!_ ’ Prompto asked, tilting his head cutely.

Ignis chuckled at the innocent question, pushing up his glasses a little. “Nothing spectacular,” he said with a small half-smirk. “I merely cooked it. Go ahead and try. See how you like it.” The pup carefully picked up a piece of the meat in his teeth, remembering Noctis’s warning that it was hot, before beginning to chew it.

‘ _So gooood!_ ’ he squealed happily.

This caused both Noctis and Ignis to chuckle. However, the sandy blonde caught the pointed, bemused look from Noctis, and he hummed briefly. “Very well… I’ll see you both later, then,” he said simply, nodding once before he left again.

Noctis smirked, walking over to the wolf as he munched on his food, before he plopped down on the bed again. As he ate, though, Prompto soon noticed the Nightwalker wasn’t eating.

‘ _Aren’t you gonna eat, too, Noctis?_ ’ he asked after swallowing a mouthful.

“Ah…no, it’s okay; I already ate,” Noctis assured him with a smile.

‘ _Oh. Okay!_ ’ the blonde chirped, before eating his fill. Once he was full, he yawned widely, his full stomach making him sleepy.

With a soft chuckle, Noctis picked up the tray and set it aside. Once it was out of the way, he moved to lay down on the bed. “Alright… let’s get some sleep, okay?”

‘ _Kay…_ ’ Prompto nodded slowly, clambering over to Noctis’s side and curling up against him. ‘ _Goodnight, Noctis…_ ’

“Goodnight, Prom,” Noctis murmured, even as he reached out and shut the light off. It didn’t take long after that before the young shifter was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the cutest I have ever made Prompto, but it’s because he’s only five years old when we started this. SO CUTE!!!!! I nearly died from his adorableness more than once!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More cuteness with 5 year old Prom!

When Prompto woke up next, he felt wide awake, but he noticed Noctis wasn’t yet, even as the raven held the blonde close in his sleep. Wanting the Nightwalker to wake up, the pup wormed his way out of Noctis’s hold, before clambering over to his face and licking him to wake him up.

Noctis groaned a bit at the sensation, but rather than wake up, he merely twisted his head to the side. Pouting at the response, Prompto pawed at his shoulder, whining a little.

“Nnrgh…five minutes, Iggy…” the Nightwalker groaned. This time, the pup’s expression became determined…right before he pounced on Noctis’s chest with a yip.

“GAH!!” Noctis yowled as he nearly bolted up before his gaze went to the pup on his chest. “…buh…?”

‘ _Good morning!_ ’ Prompto chirped cheerfully, sitting back with a smile and wagging his tail happily.

Blinking sleepy blue eyes at the wolf pup, Noctis looked thoroughly confused… until the events of the previous day caught up with him. “…morning…” he groaned out as he flopped back onto his pillow.

‘ _Nuuuuuue! No sleeping! I wanna play with you, Noctis!_ ’ the pup whined, nosing at the raven’s neck.

“Nrgh… Prom… ‘s too early…” the man whined tiredly.

‘ _But…I wanna play!_ ’ Prompto protested, whining again before licking Noctis’s neck.

Another groan escaped the raven as he tried to lazily get Prompto away from his neck as his body twitched a bit, but he was too tired to aim his hand properly. “Prom… stop it…” he mumbled.

‘ _Not until you play with me!_ ’ the blonde replied stubbornly, still licking at Noctis’s neck.

“Ugh… fiiiiine…” Noctis groaned finally.

‘ _Yay!_ ’ Prompto cheered, backing off. ‘ _Thank you!_ ’

Groaning, Noctis pushed himself up and held his head in his hands. “Ugh…what time is it anyway…?”

‘ _I dunno. I just usually look at the sky,_ ’ the pup shrugged.

With a heavy sigh, Noctis scooted over to the edge of his bed, and took something from the nightstand, tapping it briefly. After squinting at it for a moment longer, he groaned. “God… way too early…” he complained, rubbing his temples.

Prompto didn’t say anything, merely nuzzling the Nightwalker’s chest. With a wide yawn, Noctis moved further to the edge of the bed, briefly setting Prompto down on the bed so he could get up. The blonde watched Noctis curiously, his bright blue eyes wide, almost glowing in the dark room. After rubbing the dust from his eyes, Noctis moved to the closet to get dressed properly.

‘ _…Noctis?_ ’

“Hm?”

‘ _Do you know any other Shifters besides me?_ ’ Prompto asked, tilting his head cutely in question.

“Not any that I know of,” Noctis admitted as he kicked off the sleep pants. “I might know a few…but there’s a good chance I just don’t know they are Shifters.”

‘ _Oh…okay,_ ’ the pup nodded. He was a little disappointed by the news, but at the same time, he enjoyed Noctis’s company the most. He’d much rather be with the raven than anyone else.

After he’d dressed himself, Noctis sighed and then turned to Prompto. “So…what do you want to do, hm?”

Prompto seemed to think on it for a moment, before he asked, ‘ _Can you show me around? I don’t wanna get lost…_ ’

That made the man chuckle. “Heh…sure. C’mon,” he said, as he began to move to the door. The blonde smiled brightly, before trying to jump off the bed. He yelped when he stumbled upon landing, though, making him faceplant.

Noctis gasped as he hurried back and crouched by the pup. “You okay?” he asked worriedly.

‘ _I’m okay,_ ’ Prompto nodded, getting to his little paws. ‘ _I guess I’m still too small to jump off the bed, though…_ ’ A relieved sigh fell from the Nightwalker’s mouth, and he smiled, before he reached out and gently scratched behind Prompto’s ears. ‘ _I like when you scratch behind my ears, Noctis. It feels good,_ ’ the pup smiled up at Noctis, before licking his chin as he wagged his tail.

“Hahah… really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” Noctis chuckled, ruffling his fur before he stood again. “C’mon, let’s show you around, alright?”

‘ _Okay!_ ’ the blonde grinned, scampering after the raven as he headed to the door.

Once there, Noctis opened the door, letting the pup out first before he followed after, shutting his door behind himself again. “Right…let’s start the tour, then.”

As they went through the hallway, Prompto suddenly asked, ‘ _Noctis? Momma once told me of a flower that blooms at nighttime. Do you have it here?_ ’

Noctis glanced over with a hum, but as the question dawned, he smiled. “Hmm… Fairly sure we had a few of those last time I checked, yes.”

‘ _Really?! Momma said they were really rare! I’ve never seen one!_ ’ the pup gaped, his bright blue eyes wide with awe.

“We’ll get to those later…” Noctis promised. “The sun’s still up, so they won’t be open just yet.”

‘ _Awww…okay,_ ’ Prompto pouted, his ears flattening out to the sides.

“Don’t worry they’re not going to get up and walk away,” Noctis joked with a small smile. Prompto laughed at the joke, scampering along with the Nightwalker. As they walked, Noctis briefly stretched his arms with a groan. Just as they turned a corner, they ran into none other than Ignis, who seemed more than a little surprised at seeing Noctis up.

“Well, this is a surprise…” he said. “What happened to get you up this early?”

“What do you _think_?” Noctis shot back with a snort.

‘ _I wanted to play!_ ’ the blonde at his feet giggled. ‘ _Noctis is showing me around so I don’t get lost, though._ ’

Ignis actually chuckled at those words, though he made sure to ‘hide’ it behind his hand. “Yes, that would be best,” he agreed, before he turned serious. “I’ve taken the liberty to inform the staff ahead of time. They should all be aware that his presence is by your will.”

“Thanks, Iggy… I owe you one.”

Prompto looked between the pair, confused. ‘ _What?_ ’

“It’s fine, Prom,” Noctis assured him. “Let’s just keep up with the tour, alright?”

As they walked by, Ignis permitted a small snort. “Do try to stay out of trouble…”

“Yeah, yeah…”

‘ _Why’s Ignis so bossy?_ ’ the pup questioned while wrinkling his nose as they walked away.

“Ah, he’s just worried, that’s all,” Noctis said with a smile. “It’s fine; that what friends do.”

‘ _…I’ve never had friends…_ ’ Prompto mumbled sadly, lowering his gaze to the floor as they walked. ‘ _All the other pups were older than me, and I didn’t have any brothers or sisters…_ ’

When he heard that, Noctis looked down at Prompto sadly. However, that didn’t last long as he smiled and crouched down. “You’re only partially wrong there, Prom…”

‘ _Huh?_ ’ the blonde uttered, looking up at the Nightwalker in confusion.

“You never had friends ‘before’. But now you do.”

‘ _You mean you’re my friend?_ ’ Prompto asked hopefully.

“Of course I am,” Noctis answered, still smiling.

‘ _Yay! Thank you, Noctis!_ ’ the pup barked happily, jumping into the raven’s arms and nuzzling his cheek. And Noctis merely smiled with a chuckle, one of his hands ruffling the pup’s head gently.

“…Ah, right…”

‘ _What?_ ’

“You don’t need to call me ‘Noctis’ all the time. Just call me ‘Noct’, kay?”

‘ _Okay!_ ’ Prompto nodded eagerly. ‘ _Noct, we’ll be friends forever, right?_ ’

“Forever and ever,” Noctis swore with a smile. “Gimme your paw.” The pup did as he was told, putting his little paw in Noctis’s hand. Noctis carefully adjusted the pup’s paw and then linked his smallest finger with Prompto’s smallest toe. “This, is what we call a ‘pinky promise’. They’re used to make promises to last a lifetime.”

Prompto’s eyes were wide from the information, and he smiled excitedly. ‘ _I’ll be here with you forever, Noct?_ ’ he guessed.

“Yes, you will,” the Nightwalker confirmed, smiling warmly.

‘ _Thank you, Noct,_ ’ the blonde murmured, snuggling close to the raven’s chest.

Noctis chuckled as he once again scratched the pup behind his ear. “You’re very welcome, Prom.”

‘ _…You’re nice and warm,_ ’ Prompto giggled after a few minutes.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Noctis chuckled. “Now… Shall we continue the tour so we can get to the garden soon?”

‘ _Yeah!_ ’ the pup chirped, hopping out of Noctis’s hold, his tail wagging happily.

Laughing at the pup’s excitement, Noctis stood up and continued walking once again, with the pup hot on his heels.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Right… So down the hall, there is the dining room. That’s where we normally have our food,” the Nightwalker explained as he pointed to the door at the end. “If you go through that you’ll get to the kitchen, which is where we—well, Iggy, mostly…—fixes our food.”

Prompto nodded his understanding, smiling brightly at his friend.

“Let me think... We’ve had the guest rooms… the training rooms… dining hall… kitchen… which means…” Smirking, Noctis turned to Prompto. “We have _one_ more place to see.”

‘ _The garden?!_ ’ the blonde guessed eagerly.

“Yep. And I think…” Noctis paused to reach into his pocket and pull something out. After looking at it for a moment, he nodded. “Yep. Sun set about five minutes ago, so they should be waking up soon.”

‘ _Yay!_ ’ Prompto cheered, bouncing in place with his excitement.

“Right then; this way,” the Nightwalker said, leading the way down a hallway they had not yet ventured down. The pup hurried after him, his tail wagging like mad. Finally, they reached a hefty doorway, and Noctis placed a hand on the doorknob before looking at Prompto. “Ready?”

‘ _Yeah! I wanna see the nighttime flowers!_ ’ Prompto grinned.

“Alright then…” Noctis chuckled, before he turned the knob and pulled open the door. Once the door was open, the blonde’s small jaw dropped at the sight of several Night Orchids in bloom in the garden, the moonlight from the night sky making the silver slivers of color among the pale purple on them almost glow.

‘ _So pretty…!_ ’ he gasped.

“Well?” Noctis asked with a chuckle. “Are you getting out there?” Prompto blinked at the question, before running out into the garden with an excited yip. There were so many different flowers besides the Night Orchids, and they were all beautiful, but the Night Orchids were the most beautiful.

‘ _Come on, Noct!_ ’ he called when he saw the Nightwalker watching him. With a small chuckle, Noctis walked into the garden as well, hands in his pockets as he followed. The pup scampered over to him, running around his feet. ‘ _How do you have so many flowers here?_ ’ he asked. ‘ _I’ve never seen so many pretty flowers like these!_ ’

“A lot of effort,” the Nightwalker chuckled. “This didn’t happen overnight, Prom; it took a few years, at least.”

‘ _So you’ve had these for longer than I’ve been alive? Wow!_ ’ Prompto gasped.

“…Actually, how old _are_ you anyway?” Noctis asked curiously.

‘ _I’m five!_ ’ was the cheery reply.

“Already five, huh?” the Nightwalker chuckled, as he dropped down on his knees. “I barely remember being that age… feels like ages ago…”

Tilting his head curiously, the blonde asked, ‘ _Noct? How old are you?_ ’

“…” At that question, Noctis frowned. “…Now that you mention, I don’t even remember, really…”

‘ _How come you can’t remember? Everyone should know how old they are!_ ’ Prompto reasoned, padding closer to the raven. ‘ _Unless you were an old fart, is what Papa said, then there was no point._ ’ At that, he laughed.

And Noctis laughed with him. “Hahah. Gee, thanks for making me feel old, now,” he quipped.

‘ _You don’t look old!_ ’ the blonde giggled. Chuckling, Noctis reached out and ruffled the pup’s head again. Prompto squeaked at the gesture, before pouncing at the Nightwalker’s chest, making him fall back.

“Bah! Hahaha! You going to keep doing that?” Noctis joked.

‘ _Maybe!_ ’ the pup replied with a grin, before settling against the raven. ‘ _…I really like it here, Noct. I’m glad I can have a home again…_ ’ Noctis smiled as he reached up to gently pat the pup’s head. Prompto gave a pleased noise at the contact, before yawning a little. ‘ _I’m getting tired…_ ’

“Go ahead and take a nap, Prom,” Noctis said calmly, still smiling. Prompto smiled tiredly, before soon falling asleep in Noctis’s arms. The Nightwalker was still smiling as the pup fell asleep, gently petting him along his tiny back. Eventually, he rested his own head, but he kept his own eyes open as he regarded the moon high above them. And all the while he still ran his hand along the pup’s blonde fur.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

It was almost an hour later when Ignis came out from the building to find them. And while he did seem quite amused at Noctis’s predicament, he went right to the point.

“Noct, breakfast is ready.”

“Ah, right. Thanks, Iggy,” the other man said as he slowly, carefully got up, trying not to disturb the sleeping pup on his chest. However, despite that, Prompto still stirred, opening his bleary eyes with a yawn.

‘ _Noct…?_ ’ he uttered, a bit confused.

Chuckling, Noctis ran his fingers over his head. “Sorry, little one, but it’s time for breakfast.”

‘ _Did Ignis make the same as before? That was really good,_ ’ the blonde asked eagerly despite his grogginess.

Rather than answer, Noctis looked up to Ignis for an answer. The sandy blonde chuckled in response. “Unfortunately, no. But I believe you’ll like it all the same.”

‘ _I bet I will! That was good before!_ ’ Prompto smiled brightly, his tail wagging.

This drew a laugh and chuckle from Noctis and Ignis respectively, as the Nightwalker set the pup down on the ground before getting up. “Okay; let’s go to the dining hall, then.”

‘ _Okay!_ ’ the young Shifter nodded, following after the two men happily. Thankfully, it wasn’t that far, and once they reached the room, Ignis opened the door for the pair. Noctis nodded his head in thanks as he walked inside, moving toward the heavy mahogany table set up in the middle of the room. Prompto tilted his head curiously at the sight of the table when Noctis sat down at the head of it, and he sat down by the raven’s feet.

Once Noctis was seated, he looked down at Prompto curiously. “Say, Prompto…”

‘ _Huh?_ ’

“Can you shift into human form?”

‘ _Uh-uh. Not yet, anyway… Momma used to say when Shifters turn six, then they can shift into human form. But most of the pack stayed as wolves because they preferred that,_ ’ the pup replied.

“I can imagine…given how much you don’t like humans…normally.”

‘ _It’s not that we don’t **like** humans… They scare us because they normally hunt us…_ ’ Prompto sighed quietly.

“Right…” Noctis mumbled, a small frown on his face.

‘ _That’s why I was so scared when you found me. I thought you were another hunter, until I saw you and you were being so nice to me,_ ’ the blonde explained. Rather than respond, Noctis leaned down and reached out with his fingers to Prompto, though he could barely reach the small pup. Prompto smiled, and then hopped up, putting his front paws on the leg of the chair so the raven could pet him.

And Noctis smiled as he gently petted him, before he sat up as Ignis came in from the back of the room—the kitchen, if Prompto remembered right—carrying two trays with almost childish ease. The pup sat back down on the floor by Noctis’s feet, waiting for Ignis to set his food on the floor for him. Which didn’t take long, even if Ignis gave Noctis his food first (probably since it was easier to place it on the table), for which he received a nod of thanks. And then, finally he crouched down and set the tray down on the floor by Prompto.

Prompto sniffed the food, unsure of what it could be, since he’d never eaten human food before meeting Noctis. ‘ _What is it?_ ’ he asked, curious.

Ignis chuckled softly. “Peppery Daggerquil Rice. Careful, it’s hot…in more ways than one.”

Tilting his head in confusion, the blonde took a small bite of the rice, and once he swallowed, he tasted a tiny bit of a burn in his mouth, but it wasn’t from the heat of the food itself. ‘ _Kinda burns…_ ’ he whined as he lapped at the water bowl next to his food.

“That’s why Iggy said ‘in more ways than one’,” Noctis said with a smile, before he took a bite of his own food, not seeming at all bothered by the burn.

‘ _Oh…_ ’ Prompto uttered, before beginning to eat again, taking a small break here and there to drink some water. After a few more bites, the spice stopped bothering him, surprisingly, and now he could taste the delicious flavor of the dish. ‘ _This is yummy~_ ’ he hummed.

Noctis chuckled. “Good to know,” he said, as he picked up a glass and took a long sip of the dark red liquid inside.

‘ _What’s that stuff?_ ’ the pup asked when he saw it, sniffing the air to try and smell it.

In response, Noctis shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Prom,” he said. “Just focus on your food before it gets cold. It’s less tasty when it’s cold.”

‘ _Okay…_ ’ Prompto pouted, but then he was able to tell what the liquid was when he caught its coppery scent. ‘ _Is that blood?!_ ’ he yelped, staring at Noctis. The Nightwalker didn’t respond immediately, mostly because he had his mouth full, though he did turn to look at the small pup. ‘ _Why are you drinking blood, Noct?_ ’ the young Shifter questioned.

After swallowing, Noctis sighed softly. “Does it bother you that I am?”

Prompto seemed to think for a few seconds, before he replied. ‘ _As long as you don’t eat me!_ ’ he grinned cheekily.

That caused Noctis to laugh. “Nah. Too much hair,” he said with a cheeky smirk.

‘ _Hey!_ ’ the blonde huffed, which earned him another laugh from Noctis.

“I’m joking, Prom. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

‘ _Good!_ ’ Prompto nodded with a laugh.

The Nightwalker smiled, before he said, “Your food’s getting cold.”

‘ _Ah!_ ’ the pup yelped, before quickly resuming eating. He soon finished his breakfast, wagging his tail happily. Noctis took a little longer to finish, though it didn’t take too much longer before he set down his utensils with a content sigh. ‘ _That was really good once the burn stopped,_ ’ Prompto told the raven.

“Good to know,” the raven said with a smile. “So that’s a favorite for now, hm?”

‘ _Yepyep!_ ’ the blonde chirped cheerfully. Noctis chuckled in response before he sobered and looked up at the clock on the wall. ‘ _What is it, Noct?_ ’ Prompto inquired curiously, noticing how serious the Nightwalker appeared to be.

“Ah… I actually need to get back to work…or Iggy’s never gonna let me hear the end of it…”

‘ _Huh?_ ’

“C’mon,” Noctis said as he stood up from his seat. “We should be heading up.”

‘ _Where are we going, Noct?_ ’ the pup asked, confused as he followed his friend.

Noctis didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he headed toward the staircase that would lead them back toward the bedrooms. However, Noctis paused with his foot on the first step and turned to Prompto. “Think you’ll be okay in getting up?”

‘ _…_ ’ Prompto eyed the steps thoughtfully, before looking up at Noctis. ‘ _…Carry me?_ ’ he asked shyly. With a small chuckle, Noctis bent down and picked the small pup up into his arms. Once he had a good grip on him, he began to silently ascend the stairs, his finger absently petting Prompto behind his ear. The blonde gave an almost purring sound at the touch, leaning against the raven’s chest contently.

Noctis merely smiled as he continued to climb the stairs, until he finally arrived at the third floor. “Here we are,” he said as he set Prompto back down.

‘ _Are we going to bed already? I’m not tired yet!_ ’ Prompto yelped when he saw the bedroom door.

The cry made Noctis laugh in amusement. “No, not yet, Prom. Further,” he said, leading the way down the hall to a room at the end.

‘ _What are we doing, then?_ ’ the pup frowned, puzzled.

“I need to do some work,” Noctis said calmly as he opened the door, stepping aside to let Prompto in first.

‘ _What’s ‘work’?_ ’

“Well…um…” Noctis frowned, thinking about how he was supposed to explain the concept of ‘work’ to someone like Prompto. “Well…it’s like the opposite of fun. You need to do certain things that are not fun but _are_ required.”

‘ _Ewww… Sounds dumb and boring,_ ’ Prompto grumbled, wrinkling his nose.

“Kinda is…but I gotta, unfortunately…” the Nightwalker said with a sigh as he walked over to the heavy desk set up in the back of the room after shutting the door.

‘ _Why?_ ’

“Because…well, I just need to do these things, Prom.”

‘ _Why?_ ’

“Because…oh for…” Noctis groaned as he realized where this was going. “I just have to, okay?”

‘ _But Noooooct!_ ’ the blonde whined, pouting.

“What?”

‘ _I wanna play with you! Can’t we go to the garden again?_ ’

Noctis sighed softly. “Sorry, Prom… If I don’t finish this, Ignis will have my hide… We’ll play as soon as I’m done, okay?”

Prompto whined, looking downright dejected as his ears flattened out to the sides, before he curled up against Noctis’s feet with a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to explain, Shifters in this fic are born human, then shift into their animal form shortly after. From there, they can't shift back until they turn 6.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some familiar faces, but one new face, too. Stop calling Prom 'kid', dammit!

X*X(3 Years Later)X*X

Prompto had adjusted easily to life with Noctis over the past three years. He was now able to shift into human form with ease, and once he had been able to when he turned six, Ignis was quick to arrange for clothes to be made for him. The blonde had his own bed in Noctis’s room, but he still enjoyed sleeping with Noctis in the raven’s bed in wolf form, despite Ignis’s complaints about the Shifter’s fur on the sheets (which usually fell on deaf ears).

During the first few months, Prompto occasionally had nightmares about his pack being murdered, but thanks to the Nightwalker who had saved him and taken him in providing him comfort every time, he stopped having them. Sometimes the blonde would reminisce over his parents, but he was happy in his current life with Noctis.

That morning, Prompto knew Noctis had his dumb paperwork to do after breakfast, so the Shifter would either be left to his own devices, or he would have to wait in the raven’s study. Regardless, he looked forward to mornings (or evenings, as it was) spent with Noctis. He had come to learn that the Nightwalker couldn’t be out in the sun, since it would hurt him, so his ‘mornings’ were Prompto’s evenings. And Prompto’s mornings were Noctis’s ‘evenings’.

The blonde yawned as he woke up, stretching out his legs before rolling over to look at Noctis, who was still fast asleep. ‘ _Noct, time to get up, or else Ignis is gonna be in here,_ ’ he told the raven. The call seemed to have gone unheard, though, as Noctis barely even made a noise, and instead only turned on his side.

Rolling his eyes a bit, Prompto sighed. ‘ _I don’t like to do this, Noct, but…_ ’ Trailing off, the Shifter carefully climbed off the bed, before he sat down next to it and barked.

“Gah!” the Nightwalker yowled, bolting up in surprise, before he spotted Prompto. “Ugh…seriously, Prom?”

‘ _Would you prefer I lick you awake instead?_ ’ the blonde snickered.

“I’m starting to heavily consider it…”

Prompto shifted to human form, before hopping onto the raven’s bed. “Aww, come on, Noct! You know you wouldn’t wake up for anything else besides Ignis,” he pointed out. Noctis merely groaned as he stretched out his arms above his head, bones cracking audibly. The Shifter sighed, before sliding back off the bed to get changed out of his pajamas. “I bet I make a better alarm than Ignis does!” he called from the closet, a grin in his voice.

“Very funny…” Noctis mumbled as he climbed out of bed as well, yawning loudly as he walked over. Prompto merely laughed, before he changed into some casual clothes for the day. Once he was dressed, he looked up at the raven, a bit of a put-out expression on his face. “You have to do your paperwork today, huh?”

“Yeah…” Noctis mumbled as he pulled his sleepwear off over his head.

“Why do you always have to do paperwork, Noct? I don’t get it…” the blonde questioned, frowning.

“People just have ‘work’. Prom,” the Nightwalker explained solemnly. “And unfortunately, my work sucks up a lot of my free time…”

“It’s not fair, though… You shouldn’t have to do all that stuff…” Prompto whined.

“Yeah, well… life’s unfair, unfortunately…”

The Shifter grumbled quietly, but followed Noctis out to the dining hall once he was dressed as well. Once they got there and took their seats, Ignis was already setting their breakfast on the table. When he spotted them, he nodded. “Morning.”

“Hey,” Noctis said in response.

“Morning, Ignis!” Prompto grinned, which made Ignis offer a smile and nod in return. When they reached the table, Noctis calmly picked up Prompto and helped him into his seat before he moved to his own. Shortly after, Ignis brought out their breakfasts, which was something Noctis had called a Grease Monkey’s Schnitzel Sandwich when Prompto had first had it months ago. Noctis didn’t seem surprised at that, as he picked up the sandwich and took a pretty big bite from it.

The blonde took a bite from his, eating his sandwich at a casual pace as usual. He honestly wasn’t looking forward to having to wait around for Noctis to finish his paperwork today, but he’d rather do that than be bored by himself. Breakfast passed them by in silence, as it often did, with Noctis occasionally sipping from his drink while appearing to be lost in his own thoughts (which happened a lot, to be honest). Once they had finished, the Nightwalker stretched out his arms with a groan, before finally standing up.

Prompto stretched as well, before deciding to hang out in the garden for a bit while Noctis worked. “Noct? Can I hang out in the garden for a bit this time?” he asked.

“Hm?” Noctis regarded the blonde for a few moments before he chuckled. “Sure. Just don’t dig up the flowers, kay?”

“Nooooct! I know better! They’re too pretty!” Prompto pouted, which made Noctis chuckle.

“It’s a joke, Prom. Relax.”

The Shifter stuck his tongue out at the raven teasingly, before grinning as he headed out of the dining room to the garden. Noctis allowed a chuckle as the pup bounded out the room, shaking his head before he stood to head off for his study.

As Prompto made his way to the garden, he ran into Gladio, one of Noctis’s friends. “Hey Gladio,” the boy greeted.

“Heya squirt,” the brunette smirked, ruffling the blonde’s hair playfully. “I thought you’d be with Noct?”

“I decided to hang out in the garden for a bit first,” the Shifter shrugged, and then continued on his way. “See you later!”

“See ya ‘round,” Gladio chuckled.

Once the Shifter got out into the garden, he shifted into wolf form and flopped into nearby bed of flowers, sighing as he looked up at the night sky. The moon was out by now, so he gazed at it as he lay on his back. As his bright blue eyes watched the stars, they narrowed curiously when he saw something moving in the sky above him.

As Prompto squinted, he was finally able to make out what he had spotted; it looked like a car of some sort, but it was up in the air like a bird…and as it got closer, Prompto realized it was much, MUCH bigger than the car in which he been brought to his new home by Noctis before. Added to that, it seemed to have wings, like a bird, but they weren’t moving in the same way.

Alarmed by the sight of it, Prompto bolted to his paws and ran inside, hurrying to Noctis’s study. ‘ _Nooooooct!_ ’ he yelled when he got close.

“Hm?” Noctis hummed as Prompto came bolting through the door. “What’s wrong?”

‘ _There’s something HUGE in the sky! I saw it from the garden, and it was way bigger than the car, and it was flying, and it had wings!_ ’ the Shifter wailed, his ears back and eyes wide.

Though Noctis raised a curious eyebrow at the pup, after a moment he seemed to understand what he meant. “Ah… that’s an airship, Prom.” Smiling, he said, “It’s like a car for long distance travel through the sky.”

‘ _Oh…_ ’ Prompto uttered, before shifting back, his expression confused. “What’s it doing here, though?”

“If it holds who I think it holds…” Noctis murmured as he put some of his paperwork aside. “Something must’ve happened…” he mumbled as he stood up.

“What’s going on, Noct?” the blonde asked with a worried look as he followed after the raven.

“I’d rather not make assumptions right now…” Noctis murmured.

“…Well, who would it be in the airship, then?”

“Someone I sent out to look into something in Bran Bal…”

At that point, Prompto gave up on trying to find out anything else before they met up with the occupants of the airship, giving a small, annoyed sigh.

As they moved through the halls, they ran into both Ignis and Gladio, going in the same direction. “Hey,” Noct said in acknowledgement of his two friends. “Any news?”

Ignis hummed, adjusting his glasses. “Seems Setzer believes he’s found something he believes to be worth our attention…something he’s seen fit to take with him.”

“…he smuggled something out of Bran Bal?” Noctis asked with a frown. “How did he get away undetected?”

“Based on the scorch marks on the ship, he didn’t,” Gladio replied. The blonde by Noctis’s side was completely confused by this point, but he knew he wouldn’t get any answers if he asked, so he just remained quiet.

“Damn… may’s well see what he’s got to show…” Noctis murmured, as he started walking once more, the others close behind.

They moved down an area that Prompto had not been to before, but it was wide and huge, and eventually led out to a massive metal platform. And on the other end, the massive airship was just touching down. Prompto remained glued to the Nightwalker’s side as he waited, his bright blue eyes wide with curiosity.

As the airship finally fell silent, the heavy door groaned, before it hissed and then slid open. And from within came a single man, dressed in a very fashionable suit, though the heavy coat was secured around his shoulders rather than being worn the correct way. The man had smoothed back silver hair, and his sharp blue eyes were calm and cool, as if he hadn’t been in some sort of battle before.

“Noct? Who’s that?” the blonde asked Noctis quietly.

“Later, Prom…” Noctis murmured softly, before he turned to the man as he approached, making Prompto pout.

“Good evening, Sir,” the man said calmly with a simple salute, “How have you been, then?”

“Setzer,” the Nightwalker said simply in greeting. “I was not expecting you here this soon…”

“Yes, well, I encountered something that I believe you would wish to know about.”

“Oh?”

Prompto listened quietly, unsure of just what was going on.

“Do tell, what did you manage to procure?” Ignis asked, sounding somewhat skeptical.

“Hmm… well, it may be better just to show you,” the man--Setzer, was it?—said, before he turned to the entrance he had just come out of. “It’s alright; come on out.”

While this caused a bit of confusion, shortly after the call, someone else walked out of the ship. He was a young boy, possibly in his early teens, with silver hair with purple tints here and there and dark purple eyes. He was holding a smaller child in his arms, who seemed to be fast asleep, blonde hair hiding their face, and a similar looking child was toddling after, appearing to be about Prompto’s age…if not a little younger.

Immediately, Prompto’s nose twitched when he caught a familiar scent from the trio, and he smiled brightly before he shifted and bounded over to them excitedly.

“Prompto!” Noctis shouted out in surprise, and even Ignis spluttered when the pup bounded over.

‘ _Noct, they’re Shifters!_ ’ the pup assured him, before looking at the three in front of him. ‘ _Hi! I’m Prompto!_ ’

The teen jumped back somewhat at the pup’s sudden appearance, his grip on the child in his arms tightening somewhat. The boy behind him, though, blinked curiously as he tilted his head sideways while regarding Prompto. The wolf Shifter shifted back before smiling.

“Don’t worry, I’m a Shifter, too,” he told them.

“…”

However, before Prompto could speak again, Setzer stepped up and tugged the pup back. “Okay, all nice and well, kid, but that may not be so smart.”

“Why?”

“That’s not important, kid,” Setzer said simply, lightly pushing the boy back toward Noctis.

But before he could complain, Noctis called out, “Prom! Get back here.”

“Coming…” Prompto called back, his expression dejected as he trudged back to the raven’s side.

Once he was back at Noctis’s side, Noctis rubbed his head softly, before he turned to Setzer as the teen moved over to the taller man. “Setzer, while I have no issues with you bringing Shifters into Insomnia, why did you decide to bring them here?”

“Much as I wish to explain this as soon as possible, perhaps we should take this inside.”

“…Very well.”

Prompto frowned, as he had a bad feeling something had happened to them. “What happened to them?” he questioned.

“Let us get inside, first,” Setzer said simply, as the group began to walk inside, the three kids following behind slowly. As they walked, Prompto was still pouting. He just wanted to make friends with fellow Shifters like himself. What was wrong with that?

They reached a room that Prompto had never been into before, though he knew the name of it; the meeting room. There was a large table in the center with a bunch of chairs around it.

As Noctis walked toward the head of the table, he picked up Prompto and sat down on a chair, setting the small Shifter in his lap as he did. The blonde automatically settled in the Nightwalker’s lap, but his bright blue gaze soon focused on the three new Shifters. He couldn’t tell what kind of Shifters they were, but he was definitely eager to find out.

Meanwhile, Gladio leaned against the wall behind Noctis, as he sometimes did when he was to just listen. Ignis, meanwhile, stood by the chair, as Setzer helped the teen into a seat. And once he was seated, the small boy leaped up and clambered onto the teen’s lap, where he settled quietly. As he did, though, he leaned forward to the table and peeked over the surface toward Prompto.

Noticing this, Prompto smiled kindly at the boy, hoping it would help. The boy tilted his head again, blinking several times, before the teen grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and tugged him back, making the boy yip, before pouting up at the taller boy. The teen’s reaction made the wolf Shifter pout as well, lowering his gaze to the table.

“So, just what made you bring them here?” Gladio asked Setzer.

"Right to the point, hm?" Setzer chuckled before he turned serious. "But alright, my point. Now... initially when I arrived in Bran Bal, there did not appear anything worth investigating, despite all the rumors we've been hearing over time."

As the man spoke, Noctis was absently rubbing his thumb over the back of Prompto's neck. Prompto shivered lightly at the rubbing, but otherwise remained still, listening.

"But I assume you ended up finding something worthy of investigation, correct?" the Nightwalker asked.

"That is correct, Sir," Setzer confirmed. "Perhaps if I had not encountered this boy," he said, gesturing for the teen, "I would not have stuck around."

At the comment, the pup furrowed his brows together and tilted his head curiously.

“What do you mean?” Gladio frowned.

"As your little friend has already pointed out, they are Shifters... but that's where the normalcy ends."

Ignis hummed with a frown of his own on his face, as he pushed his glasses up a little more. "What do you mean by that?" he asked firmly.

Setzer didn't respond immediately, as he rested his chin on his hands. "...They _are_ Shifters, yes... just not 'natural' Shifters."

“Huh? What do you mean?” Prompto asked, confused.

"...Are you saying..." Noctis started slowly, his expression darkening dangerously, "that they were making artificial Shifters?"

"...Yes, I am, Sir," was the solemn confirmation.

“What’s that mean, Noct?” the blonde in his lap asked worriedly, becoming nervous when he saw how angry his friend was becoming.

"What it means, kid," Setzer said instead, "is that these kids were once _human_."

“What?!” Prompto yelped, his eyes widening. “They smell like Shifters, though!”

"Oh they are," Setzer said simply. "Now, anyway."

“Why would people make humans into Shifters, though? I thought humans usually hunted us...” the blonde questioned, lowering his gaze as he remembered his pack.

"Likely the same reason why men once hunted wolves... before realizing they could _use_  them by domesticating them until they became men's 'best friend' in the shape of dogs."

"...they intended to use them as soldiers, did they not?" Noctis murmured icily.

"That seems to have been their intention, yes."

“That’s so bad!!” Prompto whimpered, horrified by the idea of Shifters being forced to fight for humans. Rather than say anything on it, Noctis reached out and gently rubbed the boy's head. He didn't say anything, though, so Ignis decided to do so instead.

"And I assume you've decided to take these kids with you upon your return because of it?"

"Yes," Setzer said calmly. "It seemed to be a better idea to take them away to prevent more from being made,"

"..." Noctis remained silent for a moment more, before he actually chuckled. "You blew up their lab, didn't you?”

Setzer merely chuckled. “Perhaps…”

“That would explain why they attacked the airship,” Gladio snorted.

“...Noct?” Prompto said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“Are they staying here?” The boy’s voice was hopeful.

"..." The Nightwalker didn't respond immediately, and instead turned to Ignis. Catching the look, Ignis hummed.

"It would be best to have them close by to ensure they do not fall back into the hands of Bran Bal... There's no telling what would happen then."

“So they can stay?!” Prompto demanded excitedly.

"For now, yes. At least until we can find a better place for them."

“Yay!” the wolf Shifter cheered, turning in the raven’s lap and hugging him. “Thank you, Noct!”

The move had the Nightwalker chuckling, as he patted the boy's head. Once the pup had settled down again, he turned to Setzer and asked: "Do they have names, or...?"

"They might..." Setzer murmured, glancing to the side toward the three kids. "But they haven't told me, yet."

“...Can I try?” Prompto offered.

“…Go ahead,” Noctis said with a small nod.

Sliding off the raven’s lap, the blonde approaching the children with a kind smile. Once he was close enough, he said, “Do you guys want to tell me your names?” He then gained a teasing light to his eyes as he added, “Or else you’ll just be Kid 1, 2, and 3.”

The teen watched the smaller boy with a frown, still holding the third child close to him. The boy on his lap, though, scampered over to peek over the teen’s legs down to Prompto, blue eyes watching him curiously.

“You’ll like it here, though. Noct saved me when my pack was killed when I was five years old, and I’ve loved living here since then,” Prompto told them.

“…”

The boy tilted his head, blinking, before he looked up to the teen curiously. However, the teen didn’t say anything, and instead tugged the other boy back again, making him yip and pout.

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you guys,” Prompto promised. He looked at the teen after a moment. “You don’t trust me, do you?”

“…” The teen didn’t say anything, but the way his eyes narrowed at Prompto said enough.

“What can I do to help you to trust me?”

“…”

Thinking for a few moments, Prompto then seemed to come up with something. Shifting into wolf form, he wagged his tail slowly before rolling over onto his back and exposing his belly in a submissive, vulnerable position. While the teen didn’t respond to the obvious display of submission, the boy in his lap seemed to be very interested. And then, before the teen could stop him, the small blonde wriggled out from the teen’s grasp and hopped down to the floor, much to the teen’s surprise, since he tried to keep the boy from jumping down.

‘ _You can rub my belly, I don’t mind,_ ’ the wolf Shifter told the younger boy. Tilting his head, the boy scampered over, before he reached over and poked at Prompto’s belly curiously. Prompto immediately giggled through his telepathy, before telling the boy, ‘ _H-hey, that tickles!_ ’

This caused the boy to blink, twice, before a small grin spread across his face. And without warning he moved in again.

‘ _AH!!_ ’ the pup yelped, before beginning to squirm and laugh as the little boy tickled him.

The boy giggled as he kept up the attack, much to the amusement of the adults as they watched, while the silver-haired teen watched with a small frown.

Noctis permitted a small smile as he said, “Well…one of them seems to be active enough…”

This made Ignis chuckle as well. “Yes, it would seem so,” he said calmly.

Prompto wriggled from the boy’s ‘assault’, still laughing like crazy. ‘ _You’re merciless!_ ’ he giggled. The small boy merely grinned in response, eyes sparkling mischievously. Which didn’t last long as he was suddenly grabbed by the scruff of his neck and lifted off the ground with a yip. Courtesy of the teen, of course, who was still holding onto the third child.

‘ _Hey, he was fine,_ ’ Prompto assured the teen, before rolling back over and getting to his paws. ‘ _No harm done._ ’

“…”

The teen didn’t say anything, even as the boy he was holding wriggled in his grip. And suddenly he spun around and locked his arm around the teen’s arm, pasting his whole body to the taller boy’s limb.

That made Prompto laugh as he shifted back. “You’re like a monkey, huh?” he giggled out. The boy looked down to Prompto with a big grin, while the teen watched the boy almost dryly. The wolf Shifter smiled kindly at the teen as he steadily ceased his chuckles. “It looks like your brother has warmed up to me, though,” he commented.

As expected, the teen didn’t respond to those words, even as the smaller boy scrambled along his arm and then clambered up to the teen’s shoulder, giggling conspiringly, as if he knew something no one else did. Just then, a familiar touch fell on Prompto’s shoulder.

Prompto looked back and up to see Noctis behind him. “Hey Noct,” he grinned.

Noctis nodded briefly, smiling, before he crouched down to the kids’ level. “Hey there,” he said to the kids, offering them a smile.

“…” While the teen seemed a bit worried, the boy on his shoulder was blinking, before smiling and watching the Nightwalker silently.

“Noct’s really nice, I promise!” the blonde by Noctis’s side tried to assure them.

When the teen continued to remain wary of them both, Noctis decided to speak up again. “I can imagine you probably don’t think too highly of humans, or people in general, but I can assure you that you’re free to stay here for as long as you like.” This made the teen frown, obviously suspicious, but the Nightwalker merely continued to smile as he said, “I know we’re probably asking a lot of you right now, especially after what you’ve been through, but at least here, you’ll be safe.”

“I’ve lived here for three years now, ever since Noct saved me from hunters that killed my pack, including my parents,” Prompto added. “This is home for me now, and I love it here.”

“…”

Surprisingly, though, the small boy on the teen’s shoulder reached out and tugged on the taller boy’s hair and when he looked over, the boy pouted with a small whine. This made him frown a bit, but the smaller boy merely whined again, which, in the end, made the teen sigh.

Finally, he turned back to Noctis and softly nodded his head. The wolf Shifter grinned at the response, before leaning against the Nightwalker, his animal instincts making him happily nuzzle Noctis’s side.

Nodding his head in turn, Noctis continued, “Alright…we’ll set up some rooms for you… or one single room if you prefer. That okay, kid?”

“…Kuja…”

“Hm?”

The teen bit his lip briefly, before he mumbled, “…it…it’s Kuja…”

Prompto blinked in surprise, before smiling warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Kuja,” he greeted. The teen merely nodded minutely, while the boy on his shoulder blinked curiously, looking back and forth between Kuja, Prompto and Noctis. “What are your brother’s and sister’s names?” the pup inquired.

“…” Kuja looked over to the boy on his shoulder briefly, who looked back with a curious blink. Finally, the teen murmured, tipping his head toward the boy: “…Zidane…” before he motioned to the girl in his arms. “…Mikoto…”

When they finally knew the names of all three kids, Noctis smiled warmly. “It’s good to properly meet you. All of you. You already know Prompto, and my name is Noctis, but you’re free to call me Noct, if you wish.” Prompto smiled brightly, before perking up when he thought of something.

“Noct? Can I show them the garden?” he asked.

This made Noctis laugh softly. “If they want to…” he said calmly.

“Do you want to see the garden? Noct has a LOT of really pretty flowers there!” the wolf Shifter offered to Kuja with an excited grin.

“…flo…wers…?” Kuja repeated slowly.

Prompto tilted his head, confused. “Haven’t you ever seen a flower before?”

“…” Kuja slowly shook his head.

The blonde then smiled brightly. “Then I’ll show you what they are, if you want. They’re really pretty in the moonlight, since usually flowers bloom during the day, but Noct has special flowers that bloom at night since we’re up then,” he told the silverette.

“…kay…?”

“Come with me,” Prompto instructed, starting to leave the meeting room. Kuja hesitated momentarily, before he slowly began to follow. The pup led Kuja to the garden’s entrance, where he paused at the door. “Ready?”

“…”

While Kuja didn’t say anything, Zidane seemed particularly eager, watching Prompto with wide eyes. Prompto smiled eagerly, before opening the door, and revealing the garden’s beauty to the siblings.

“…!” Kuja's eyes actually widened at the sight, and Zidane openly gawked. The latter didn’t last long, though, as the boy’s mouth twisted into a grin and he bounded off of Kuja’s shoulder to start running around the garden. " _Zidane!_ ”

“It’s okay, as long as he doesn’t pull them up or anything. I play out here sometimes,” Prompto assured the teen, before shifting and bounding out into the garden after Zidane with a playful bark. This caused Zidane to yelp, before he laughed happily—just before he jumped after Prompto, shifting into a blonde monkey as he scampered around. ‘ _I KNEW you had to be a monkey!_ ’ the pup laughed as he lowered himself into a play bow. Zidane grinned brightly, right before he leapt on top of Prompto with a loud squeal.

Prompto yelped, but his tail was wagging like mad as he started running around, taking care to avoid the Night Orchids’ portion of the garden. They reminded him of his mother, so he didn’t want to do anything bad to them. And the rush caused Zidane to laugh, while Kuja merely watched them go. The taller boy eventually moved over to the center, where he sat down with Mikoto still in his arms. The wolf Shifter soon paused in front of Kuja, a smile on his muzzle as he asked, ‘ _What can you shift into, Kuja?_ ’

“…”

‘ _Aww, come on, it’s okay! I’m happy to have you guys as my friends! I wanna be friends with you,_ ’ Prompto told him, his tail wagging.

“…”

Zidane blinked, twice, before he grinned, wagging his tail, before he gave a cry and leapt into Kuja’s lap, making the silverette yowl.

“…Zidane…!” Kuja snarled, frowning at the monkey, but the blonde merely grinned widely.

‘… _Kuja?_ ’ the pup murmured. The silverette didn’t even bother to say anything as he shoved Zidane off of his lap, making the blonde yip. Prompto steadied the monkey with his nose, before looking at Kuja again. ‘ _I really mean what I said. I **do** want to be friends with you all,_ ’ he said.

“…”

Suddenly, Zidane reached over and tugged on Prompto’s fur. When Prompto looked over, the monkey tilted his head. ‘ _…fr…friends…??_ ’

‘ _Yeah, I wanna be friends with all of you,_ ’ the wolf Shifter smiled. ‘ _Being friends means we’re close, and we can have a bond. It also means we’re able to all be together and have fun._ ’

The explanation made Zidane tilt his head in question, as if he didn’t understand what he was being told. Kuja sighed softly, before he reached out and patted the blonde’s head.

Deciding to change the subject, Prompto asked, ‘ _So, what do you think of the garden? It’s really pretty, right?_ ’

“…it’s…n-nice…” Kuja murmured softly.

‘ _I’m happy you like it,_ ’ the pup smiled, wagging his tail again, and then he pointed his nose over to the Night Orchids. ‘ _Those ones are my favorite because they remind me of my mom._ ’

‘ _…m…mom…?_ ’ Zidane repeated, curious.

‘ _Yeah. She was the one who was raising me before the hunters happened…_ ’ Prompto murmured, lowering his gaze with a small whine. ‘ _I still miss her, though…_ ’

Catching the sadness in Prompto’s voice, Zidane frowned, before he scampered over and patted him on the head.

The pup smiled slightly at the monkey. ‘ _Thanks, Zidane,_ ’ he murmured. This made Zidane tilt his head, curious, before he gave a big grin.

“…he doesn’t know how to speak…” Kuja suddenly said. “…he didn’t learn…”

‘ _How come?_ ’ Prompto asked, tilting his head curiously.

The teen merely shrugged his shoulders once. “…wasn’t…important…I guess…”

‘ _Well, he’ll get to learn here,_ ’ the wolf Shifter assured the silverette.

“…I see…” Kuja murmured, while Zidane merely looked back and forth between the two.

‘ _And I know Noct can help, too,_ ’ Prompto added. ‘ _Actually, I bet everyone will help._ ’

This didn’t seem to do much for Kuja in terms of confidence in their situation…which was about when Mikoto finally stirred, before she gave a wide yawn. Naturally, Zidane grinned and bounded over, shifting back as he started poking the small girl’s shoulder.

“Zidane, stop that,” Kuja chastised, as Mikoto blinked her eyes open and looked around curiously.

Prompto shifted back as well, so as not to scare Mikoto, and he smiled. “Hi there,” he greeted, smiling kindly. The girl blinked sleepily as she looked over, her own blue eyes still a bit blurred from how tired she was. And then she yawned widely, even as Kuja set her down on the ground, where she proceeded to rub at her eyes.

“She doesn’t know how to talk, either, right?” the pup asked Kuja. A nod was the only response. Zidane, in the meantime, had gotten behind the girl and was combing his hands through her hair, as if he was trying to fix the messy bedhead. Prompto frowned for a split second, but then he brightened. “Try not to worry so much about everything, Kuja,” he said, sitting down in the grassy spot next to him. “You gotta be positive!”

“…posi…tive…?”

“Look at how good things can be, instead of bad.”

While Kuja continued to look at Prompto funny, he didn’t have long to worry about it as Zidane suddenly clambered up his back, making the taller boy yelp. “Zidane!!” he snarled, but the blonde was giggling as he settled on the teen’s shoulders. And Mikoto merely watched silently.

“I think Zidane’s got a bit of a carefree look on life,” Prompto chuckled.

Kuja frowned at Prompto, before he said, “If this is ‘positive’…I can do without…” he said, reaching up to tug Zidane off his head.

“Hey, it just means you can see life to the fullest, instead of being scared of the worst thing happening all the time,” the wolf Shifter pointed out. The teen merely snorted, while Zidane giggled.


	4. Chapter 4

X*X(6 Months Later)X*X

It was now autumn in Insomnia, and things had been getting better for the three siblings that were now residing along with Prompto and Noctis. Thanks to Noctis’s and Prompto’s help, the twins, Zidane and Mikoto, had learned basic speech, and were still learning with each passing day. Even Kuja had gained a better understanding of and skill with speech.

It was nearing Prompto’s 9th birthday, though, and the pup was becoming excited, since he’d had so much fun with Noctis on his 6th, 7th, and 8th birthdays. Ignis had even let the Nightwalker have a couple of free days with the Shifter each time, much to Prompto’s pleasure. So today, since his birthday was a couple of weeks away, Prompto decided he would ask Noctis about something he’d read about during his lessons and was eager to see: Chocobos.

He yawned and stretched as he woke up that ‘morning’, before raising his head to look at Noctis. Once again, he’d slept in Noctis’s bed in wolf form, and he’d stopped barking the raven awake, per Noctis’s request, and had gone to licking either the back of his neck or his face to wake him. With a cheeky grin, since Noctis’s back was to him, Prompto leaned over and licked a wet streak along the back of the Nightwalker’s neck.

This caused the Nightwalker to groan, before he curled up a little further. The pup rolled his eyes, but then got up, moving to stand over the raven…right before licking his cheek.

“Gah…!” Noctis cried out, before he blinked slowly and looked up. “…already, Prom?”

‘ _Would you like me to go back to barking?_ ’ was the retorted question. Rolling his eyes, Noctis pushed up, scratching the back of his neck. Once Prompto had shifted back and was sitting next to Noctis, he said, “Hey, Noct? I was wondering if you could show me something…”

“Hm?”

“Do you know anything about Chocobos?”

“Chocobos? Yeah, I do…why?”

“Would you be able to show me some?” the Shifter asked, his bright blue eyes wide with excitement.

The raven hummed curiously, frowning, before he chuckled. “Where did that even come from?”

“I read about them during my lessons…and I think they’re really cute in the pictures, but I wanna see real ones…” Prompto mumbled shyly.

With a soft chuckle escaping him, Noctis reached over and patted his head. “It’s okay. I should be able to arrange something…but it will take some time.”

“Thank you, Noct!” the pup exclaimed, quickly getting to his knees to hug the Nightwalker gratefully.

Noctis smiled, as he returned the hug, before he moved to the edge of the bed. “Anyway, shall we get dressed?”

“Yep!” Prompto chirped, sliding out of bed and going to the closet to get his clothes for the day. Once he was dressed, he looked back at Noctis with a laugh as he came over as well. “How much do you wanna bet that Zidane woke Kuja up by pouncing on him again?”

“I’m not taking that bet…” Noctis said with a smirk, pulling out his own clothes.

“I guess we’ll find out when we get to the dining room,” the blonde snickered, sticking out his tongue playfully at the thought of Kuja being a sourpuss again over his little brother rudely waking him.

“No question about that,” was the calm response, though he was smirking simply, before he headed for the door.

Prompto was quick to follow, and as they walked, he gained a sneaky look before asking, “So, Noct, what did you get me for my birthday this year?”

Noctis smirked at the question. “What makes you think I’ll tell you?”

“Dang, and I thought I could get you this time!” the Shifter laughed.

Chuckling, Noctis was about to turn the corner—which was when they caught a disgruntled, startled cry from further down the hall. “Aaaaand that’s Kuja being woken up,” Noctis chuckled out. Prompto laughed as he heard Zidane’s laughter at the reaction he’d gotten.

“It won’t take long until Kuja asks for his own room,” he snickered.

“Heh…I’ll bet…”

The pup smiled to himself, glad that the siblings had been able to live with them. Otherwise, they would have had nowhere to go. As they arrived at the dining hall, Ignis was already prepping the table, which wasn’t anything new. However, when he saw them coming and looked up, his expression was deadly serious for once.

“Oh no…what now?” Noctis asked with a heavy sigh.

“Noct…the council wishes to have a word with you about…current events,” the sandy blonde stated.

“Ugh…was wondering when they’d get to that…”

“What’s wrong, Noct?” Prompto asked, his brows furrowed in concern.

“Later, Prom…later…” the Nightwalker sighed out, as he walked toward his usual seat. The Shifter gave a small whimper as he followed to his own seat, worried for the raven, as obviously, something was wrong.

He didn’t get long to worry about it, though, as just then, Zidane came barreling into the dining hall. “Good morning!” he called out with a big grin. Prompto smiled at the monkey Shifter, his presence quickly distracting the pup.

“Morning, Zidane!” he greeted cheerfully.

The smaller blonde boy quickly hopped onto his own seat. And only a few moments, Mikoto came in as well, followed shortly by Kuja, the latter of which looking more than a little annoyed as he rubbed his eyes.

“…Morning,” Mikoto said calmly as she nodded to the others.

“Good morning, Mikoto, Kuja,” Prompto greeted.

“Mm…” Kuja hummed solemnly, as he and Mikoto took their seats.

Noctis chuckled softly, before he asked, “Not yet awake yet, Kuja?”

“…barely…”

“Maybe you should go to bed earlier then!” Zidane quipped with a grin. The remark made Prompto snort on a laugh. Kuja pointedly glared at the blonde, before he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Easy, Kuja,” Noctis said with a small chuckle.

“You know we’re just teasing!” the wolf Shifter added. Kuja merely snorted, while Zidane giggled merrily. They didn’t have much time to discuss things further, as Ignis and a few of the servants came in to bring them their breakfast. Everyone soon began eating, but Prompto couldn’t help but worry about Noctis. He hoped everything was okay.

Noctis didn’t seem prepared to bring up the subject, but it was clear that _something_ was up. Kuja also seemed to notice the shift, but he didn’t bring it up…primarily because he was fighting off the hyper bundle of energy that was Zidane as the boy tried to distract him. And Mikoto didn’t even seem aware of anything else other than her own breakfast. Whether that was good or bad still had to be determined.

Eventually, when they were all finished with their breakfasts, Prompto got up from his seat when Noctis did, prepared to go with the Nightwalker to speak to the council.

However, when Noctis noticed this, he raised an eyebrow at the boy. “And where do you think _you’re_ going?”

“I’m coming with, right?” the pup replied.

Noctis didn’t reply immediately, before he folded his arms over his chest. “And why would you think that?”

“I usually come with you when you work…” Prompto mumbled, starting to get a bad feeling.

And that feeling only grew when Noctis’s expression didn’t change. “Not this time, Prompto,” he said finally. “Besides, you still have lessons to get to.”

The blonde pouted, lowering his gaze sadly. At that, Zidane finally seemed to have become aware that something was going on, and he blinked, before hopping off his seat and scampering over to Prompto. “Hey hey!” he chirped. “Wha’s going on???”

“Noct’s going somewhere without me…” Prompto muttered, before sighing and heading out of the dining room to his lessons, as he was supposed to.

“…?” Zidane blinked curiously, before he looked up to Noctis.

The Nightwalker merely chuckled as he turned Zidane around and pushed him off. “Go on; you have lessons, too.”

“Awww…” the small boy pouted, before he swiftly hurried after Prompto, even as Kuja and Mikoto got off of their own seats to follow. During the young Shifters’ lessons, the pup was struggling to concentrate on his studies, considering what had happened, and the fact that he was worried something bad was happening or would happen.

Zidane was equally distracted, kicking out his feet while doodling in his notebook. Kuja and Mikoto, however, didn’t seem to worry about anything, as they both worked on the exercises they’d been given. As Prompto struggled to focus, he eventually gave up, folding his arms on the desk and burying his face in them with a heavy sigh.

At the sound, Zidane looked over curiously, blinking, before he reached over and poked the other blonde with his pencil. The wolf Shifter gave an inquisitive noise, looking at the monkey Shifter curiously.

Zidane moved his hand so that their teacher couldn’t see him talking, and whispered, “Bathroom?” with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Prompto understood, and nodded quietly.

Grinning, Zidane turned to the front and raised his hand. “Misser Tot!” he chirped, getting the attention of their teacher. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Yes, of course. Just make it quick. Prompto, could you escort him?” their teacher requested, and the pup nodded, sliding out of his seat before walking out with Zidane.

“T’ank you!” Zidane chirped, just before they were out the door. And then Zidane grabbed Prompto’s hand and started pulling him along. “Go go go!!” he cheered quietly. Prompto allowed himself to be pulled, before he finally had to ask.

“We’re going to spy on Noct, huh?” he guessed with a knowing look.

“Yep yep!”

“You’re such a sneaky monkey,” the taller blonde chuckled. Zidane stuck out his tongue, giggling, continuing to tug Prompto along. Eventually, they got close to the meeting room, and Prompto put his finger to his lips, wordlessly shushing his friend. The pair crept up to listen by the door, and soon, they could hear voices inside.

“…have you lost your mind?!” demanded a loud voice that neither of the two Shifters recognized, so it was probably one of the council (whoever they were).

“I assure you, I am as sane as I have been since my coronation,” came Noctis’s calm voice.

“I doubt that, considering you’ve allowed _Shifters_ to reside here for nearly four years now,” another council member’s voice spat, venom dripping as he practically hissed the word ‘Shifters’.

Noctis didn’t respond immediately, and this worried Prompto a bit. However, finally, he said simply, “…And I believe you have forgotten that these Shifters you so clearly despise are mere children.”

“And children grow up!” said a third, unfamiliar voice. “Once they’ve become adults they’ll not waste a moment to attack us.”

“…Why?”

“Because it’s in their nature to be aggressive and beastly!” a fourth voice snapped.

“…Why?”

“Do you honestly need us to spell it out!? They are _beasts!_ They do not _belong_ here!”

“…Why?”

“They’ve always resided in the wild, and it should always remain that way!”

“…Why?”

“Is that all you have to say about this?!”

Finally, Noctis snorted and said something else. “I believe you have forgotten, and keep forgetting, about the fact that they are mere children.”

“What does that—”

“I was NOT finished,” Noctis snarled out, immediately silencing the man.

Zidane blinked and looked over to Prompto. The pup shook his head silently, resisting the urge to whimper. He knew the council was right, and he wanted to believe that he belonged here, but it was hard when they made valid points. At heart, he was a wild animal, and belonged in the wild, like he had started out in life.

“Yes, they are Shifters. Yes, they may be wild beasts. Yes, they belong in the wild originally. However, they are _children,_ with _no_ family of their own. To them, the humans within the Citadel _are_ their family. Even when they age, there will be no reason for them to ‘attack’ us.”

“But—”

“I see no reason for this to continue any longer. Thus far, you’ve failed to even offer _one_ valid reason for either of them to not be here.”

Prompto seemed to realize the meeting was coming to a close, and he looked at Zidane pointedly, right before he started to drag him off before they got caught.

“Wah!” Zidane yipped, stumbling after, just as they both heard the words, “You’re all dismissed,” before they rounded the corner.

As they got close to their classroom, Prompto whispered to the monkey Shifter, “Tell the teacher I don’t feel good, please? I’m gonna go back to my room…”

“Prom??” Zidane asked, but the older Shifter had already darted off. “…” Blinking, the shorter moved into the room.

When Zidane re-entered the classroom, Tot looked at him curiously. “Where did Prompto go?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“Prom wasn’ feelin’ good,” Zidane lied flawlessly. “He was gonna go to bed.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll be better tomorrow, then,” Tot shrugged, before returning to their lesson.

 

X*X(Prompto)X*X

The blonde barely managed to make it back to his and Noctis’s room without breaking down crying, but as soon as he was in his own bed, he whimpered for a second before beginning to cry. He knew both the council and Noctis were right, but he also felt he didn’t belong now, after hearing the multiple arguments against why he and the others shouldn’t be allowed to live in the Citadel.

In the back of his mind, he wondered what would have happened if Ignis hadn’t let Noctis bring Prompto home when he was still so young, and it made him cry harder at the thought. It was difficult to say how long the boy remained there, but it must have been a good while, since the next thing he was aware of, was the door to the room being pushed open. The pup stiffened, but was still trembling and shaking with emotion, the tears still flowing freely down his cheeks as he struggled to regain control over himself.

As the door opened, Noctis stepped in with a weary groan, letting the door fall shut, rubbing his head. He didn’t even seem to have noticed Prompto as he walked toward his bed silently. The young Shifter remained curled under his comforter in his bed, trying not to make a sound. But unfortunately, a whine escaped him unbidden.

Which was enough of a noise for Noctis to become aware of him, as he raised his head slowly. “…Prompto?” Instead of replying, Prompto began to shake, squeezing his eyes shut tight. “…” Noctis frowned, worried, as he stood up and walked over slowly. “Prom?” he called out as he approached the pup’s bed. Terrified he was going to be in big trouble for sneaking out and eavesdropping, Prompto shook his head, a small sob tearing from him.

When he received no response, Noctis sat down on the bed, and gently placed his hand on the blonde’s back. The blonde shook harder at the touch, trying so hard not to cry further, but it was becoming more and more difficult with each passing second.

“Prom…what’s wrong?” Noctis asked softly.

“…I…I-I don’t…belong here…!” Prompto finally wailed, burying his face into his pillow with a sob.

Startled at the cry, Noctis almost pulled away, before he frowned. “Prom…” he started, reaching over and tugging him up and into his lap. The pup’s crying started anew, just as bad as when it had first started, and he shook with the force of his sobs as he clutched at Noctis, needing the raven’s comfort.

And Noctis gently shushed him, rubbing the boy’s back continuously, lightly moving the tips of his fingers along the blonde’s ear. “It’s okay…it’s okay…sssh…it’s okay…sssshhh…”

Prompto’s cries and sobs continued for a while, despite the Nightwalker’s soothing and comforting, and eventually, they began to slowly but surely calm into whimpers, sniffles, and hiccups. As they did, he clung to Noctis desperately, hoping the raven wouldn’t be mad at him.

“There we go…” Noctis murmured softly, gently ruffling the boy’s hair. “Better?” Prompto shook his head a little, still trembling. Frowning sadly, Noctis tugged the boy up against him. “You want to talk about it?”

“…I don’t wanna be in trouble…” the pup whispered hoarsely.

“What makes you think you would be?”

Prompto bit his lip nervously, before deciding he should probably come clean, but he didn’t want Zidane to get in trouble, too, so he chose not to mention him. “…I snuck out of my lessons and listened to your meeting…” he whimpered.

“…!” Noctis tensed briefly, before he frowned softly. “…why did you do that?”

“I…I was scared something bad would happen…” the blonde mumbled. “And I wanted to know what it was…”

Noctis sighed heavily. “Prom…” he said softly, tapping the side of his face. “Look at me…” Hesitantly, Prompto looked up at the Nightwalker with a sniffle, his eyes bloodshot from all of the crying.

When he did, Noctis reached out to wipe away the remains of the tears from his eyes. “Listen; you _do_ deserve to be here… Don’t listen to those windbags. They’re just in a tizzy because they’re afraid they’re losing control…”

The pup whined pitifully, somehow managing to scoot even closer to Noctis in the raven’s lap, before lowering his gaze again as he asked quietly, “What would you have done with me if Ignis had told you I couldn’t stay…?”

“Then I would’ve brought you anyway until he did let you stay.”

“…Really?” Prompto whispered, looking up at the Nightwalker.

“Of course I would’ve.”

The Shifter whimpered briefly, before he shifted in Noctis’s lap so he could hug him tightly. He truly was wanted, and he belonged here, all thanks to Noctis, and he couldn’t imagine anything different, nor did he even _want_ to. It hurt too much to consider.

Smiling, Noctis rubbed his back gently. “Better now?”

“Mm-hm,” Prompto hummed, soon settling in Noctis’s lap again, snuggling close. “I’m sorry I snuck out and listened in, Noct… I really was scared…”

“Sssh… it’s okay…don’t worry…”

“Kay…” the blonde murmured, leaning his head against the raven’s chest. “Thank you, Noct…”

The raven smiled as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

Prompto smiled at the affectionate gesture, but then yawned, as he was emotionally drained.

“Go ahead and get some rest, Prom… I’ll wake you when it’s time for dinner.”

“Okay…” the pup mumbled, and not long after, he fell asleep in Noctis’s hold.

 

X*X(2 Weeks Later)X*X

It had been two weeks since Prompto and Zidane had listened in on the council’s meeting with Noctis, and ever since Noctis had fully reassured the pup he belonged in the Citadel, Prompto didn’t worry about it anymore. And since then, the blonde had taken to sleeping in Noctis’s bed in human form because he felt better that way, and he could snuggle up with the raven that way, too.

But now, it was finally Prompto’s 9th birthday, and the wolf Shifter couldn’t be more excited. He really hoped he would get to see real Chocobos today, but if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be mad. That ‘morning’, he woke up to Noctis gently waking him.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Noctis chuckled out.

“Morning, Noct,” Prompto smiled, before yawning. As soon as he finished yawning, he perked up with an excited look. “You know what today is, Noct!”

This caused the Nightwalker to smirk in amusement. “Oh do I?”

“Nooooct!” the blonde pouted. “It’s my birthday!”

“Oh is it?” Noctis teased. Prompto shifted, before pouncing onto the raven playfully, wagging his tail.

‘ _Yes, yes it is,_ ’ he grinned.

The Nightwalker laughed. “Oh? And I suppose you're expecting to get a present, then, hm?”

‘ _I’d be bummed if I didn’t…_ ’ the pup whined.

Chuckling, Noctis reached up and set Prompto to the side as he sat up. “Well, I suppose it’s a good thing I already have it prepared, hm?”

Prompto quickly shifted back before hugging his best friend. “Thank you, Noct!”

Noctis laughed as he patted the blonde’s head. “Alright, shall we get dressed, then?”

“Yeah!” the Shifter nodded eagerly, before sliding off the bed and hurrying to the closet to get dressed. And the Nightwalker followed after with a cheeky chuckle, obviously in no hurry. Once Prompto had finished getting dressed, he started bouncing in place as Noctis took his time. “Noooooct! Hurry!” he whined.

“What’s your hurry?” Noctis chuckled out as he tugged on his shirt.

“I’m excited!” the pup grinned.

“Uh-huh… I couldn’t tell.”

The comment made Prompto stick his tongue out teasingly, a smile on his face. Finally, Noctis finished dressing and pulled his shoes on as well. The blonde went over to Noctis once he was, and grabbed his hand to tug him along.

“Hurry hurry!” he whined.

“Easy, Prom,” Noctis chuckled. Prompto pouted, but tried to settle down a bit. His excitement was immense, though, as he really wanted to see Chocobos, and he really hoped Noctis had arranged something.

As they headed out, they soon ran into Zidane, Kuja and Mikoto. And the moment they did, Zidane grinned and ran over, pouncing on Prompto with a shout of, “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Zidane!” the taller blonde laughed, managing to get the monkey Shifter off of him. “Today’s my birthday!”

“…Birthday??”

“Yeah! I’m nine years old today!” the pup grinned.

“…???” But before Zidane could ask, Kuja reached over and picked up the monkey Shifter, making the boy yip.

“Later, Zidane…”

“Aww…”

“Come on, let’s go get breakfast! I bet Ignis made cinnamon rolls this morning! They’re my favorite!” Prompto crowed, before taking off down the hall to the dining room. As soon as Kuja let the other boy down, Zidane laughed and ran after, much to the amusement of Noctis. When the two boys arrived, Prompto quickly caught the warm, delicious scent of cinnamon rolls, and he grinned. “Woohoo! Cinnamon rolls!” he cheered.

Zidane sniffed at the air, before he grinned. “Smells yummy!”

“You’ll love Ignis’s cinnamon rolls! They’re super tasty!” the wolf Shifter told his friend, before taking his seat. Zidane grinned as he clambered on his seat as well, as the others walked inside and took their own seats silently. Soon after everyone was seated, Ignis and some of the servants came out with their breakfasts, which was, of course, cinnamon rolls.

“Thanks, Ignis!” Prompto grinned. Noctis nodded his head in thanks, as Zidane picked up the roll and regarded it curiously. He sniffed it twice, before he bit down on the roll. The moment the taste hit him, he mewled around the roll happily. Prompto smiled happily as he munched on his own cinnamon roll, giving a content hum. Kuja munched on his own cinnamon roll, not showing any real reaction to the taste, while Mikoto merely hummed softly, nibbling lightly.

“They’re really good, right?” Prompto asked Kuja and Mikoto after swallowing a bite.

“Hm…” was Kuja’s only response, whereas Mikoto nodded her head. The pup knew Kuja wouldn’t give much more than that, but he knew Ignis’s cinnamon rolls had to be the best. Or rather, his cooking in general was the best of anyone. Not that he’d ever had anyone else’s cooking, but he knew what he felt had to be right. Noctis, in the meantime, was eating silently, taking slow, almost graceful bites of the cinnamon roll.

As they all ate, Prompto suddenly asked the Nightwalker, “You don’t have to work today, right?”

After swallowing another bite, Noctis chuckled. “Not last time I checked.”

“Yay!” the wolf Shifter smiled brightly, truly happy that Noctis wasn’t going to have to work on his birthday, as usual. While Noctis chuckled, Zidane blinked curiously at the interaction. Prompto smiled at Zidane, noticing his confusion, before he decided to explain. “Birthdays are when you celebrate how long it’s been since you were born. I was born nine years ago today, so today’s my ninth birthday!”

“…?” Zidane cocked his head as he finished his bite before looking at Kuja. “Do we have birthdays??”

“…” Kuja glanced over to Zidane, humming. “…I would assume so…somewhere.”

“Maybe we can make one for Zidane and Mikoto, since they’re twins, and another for Kuja, Noct,” the pup suggested to Noctis.

That made Noctis smile softly. “I don’t see why not.”

“Cool!” Prompto grinned, before looking at the other Shifters. “When do you guys want to celebrate your birthdays?”

Zidane, of course, blinked in question, and Mikoto tilted her head, while Kuja didn’t even bother looking up. Allowing a soft chuckle, Noctis said, “Prom, why don’t we focus on that later, okay?”

“Aww…” the taller blonde pouted. “Okay…”

Noctis chuckled as he finally finished off his own simple breakfast, and simply watched the Shifters as they did the same. Eventually, after they all finished their breakfasts, Prompto looked at the raven expectantly. They would normally play outside the Citadel on his birthday, and he was excited to do just that. And the Nightwalker merely smiled as he lazily got up from his seat.

The pup was quick to follow, and he shifted as he went, padding after Noctis excitedly. Before they left the room, though, Noctis turned to the other Shifters and said, “We’ll see you three later, okay?”

Kuja nodded, while Zidane cocked his head (already latched on to Kuja’s shoulder) and Mikoto hummed softly. And then they were out of the room.

As they headed toward the entrance to the Citadel, Prompto asked, ‘ _So, where are we gonna play this time? Are we going to the meadow again?_ ’

“Not this time, Prom.”

‘ _Then where?_ ’ the blonde asked, tilting his head cutely.

“Oh you’ll see…” was the cryptic response.

Prompto pouted a little at the vague answer, but his tail was wagging eagerly anyway as they got outside. Ignis was already waiting with the car, as he usually was when they were going somewhere outside of the Citadel, and Noctis let Prompto hop in before following after him to settle in for the ride that was coming.

The pup shifted back to human form before settling in his seat, but he soon leaned against Noctis as he tried to be patient and wait to find out where they were going. Which made Noctis chuckle as he reclined back, before he let his eyes fall shut for the moment, head tilting back on the headrest. Prompto’s excitement was trying to get the better of him, but he curled slightly against the raven, before closing his eyes to rest as well. After all, he didn’t know how far they were going.

The one good thing about that, was that the trip was over before they even realized, and then Ignis was shaking Noctis awake by the shoulder. The Nightwalker groaned as he rubbed at his head, before he poked Prompto in his side. The Shifter squealed a little, startled by the poke, before pouting at Noctis until he realized what was going on.

“Where are we, Noct?” he questioned, watching the raven with wide, bright blue eyes.

“Only one way to find out, hm?” the raven chuckled as he stepped out of the car. Prompto rolled his eyes, but was still smiling eagerly as he followed, climbing out of the car. “One thing, though…”

“Huh?”

“Do try to keep quiet, okay?”

“I can do that,” the blonde nodded, before shifting. ‘ _I can still talk like this, though!_ ’

“You can also still be loud that way, though,” Noctis pointed out with a chuckle, but he started walking anyway. Prompto shrugged, even as he started following, his nose sniffing at the air occasionally. He’d never been to this part of the forest before, so the scents were different and new.

Noctis walked silently. In fact, his feet didn’t make a single noise as he placed them down, not even seeming to disturb the leaves that covered the ground. This really wasn’t anything new, but it was definitely noticeable no matter how many times Prompto saw it.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. The Shifter nearly bumped into him, since he’d stopped so suddenly, but he looked up at his best friend curiously, not uttering a word. After what felt like ages, Noctis turned to Prompto and put a finger to his mouth, before he crouched down and began to slowly move along the path he had been going down. Prompto silently padded along after him, his bright blue gaze reflecting his curiosity.

Finally, Noctis stopped once again and slowly, carefully, lifted some of the undergrowth, looking out beyond the edge of the forest and into the clearing beyond. When Prompto moved to join him, though, there was nothing much to see; the darkness of the night was impenetrable, with even the moon hiding behind the dark clouds.

‘ _I don’t see anything, Noct,_ ’ the blonde told the raven.

“Patience…” whispered the Nightwalker.

And just then, the clouds finally moved away from the moon, letting its reflected light fall down upon the world below. And as soon as it did…

“Kweh~”

Prompto’s jaw dropped, and he wanted to squeal, he was so happy. There, at the lake before them, were wild Chocobos, several appearing to be hunting and eating fish and moss, some were bathing in the water, while it looked like a few females were tending to their chicks. The pup watched in awe as the Chocobos went about their business, before he finally looked up at Noctis.

‘ _You found some! Thank you so much, Noct!_ ’ he grinned, despite how he really wanted to jump up and hug Noctis at the moment. He had to refrain, though, or he’d scare off the Chocobos.

Noctis smiled at the small pup, reaching down to ruffle his head, before he whispered, “Careful you don't wag your tail off…”

‘ _Trying not to make a noise…_ ’ the Shifter replied, as he looked back to watch the Chocobos. He would have loved to play with them, but knew that if he stepped out, it was game over, and they would run for it.

Just then, one of the Chocobos that had getting food got out from the water and moved toward one of the Chocobos with her chicks. The chicks immediately began to chirp loudly, scampering over, before their mother quickly got them in line. And then the other Chocobo—likely their father—arched his neck down and began to feed the small birds.

Prompto watched with a small smile on his muzzle, but after a while, his expression saddened as he began to remember his own parents and how they’d cared for him like that.

Noticing the change, Noctis frowned in worry. “Prom…?”

‘ _S-sorry…_ ’ he apologized. ‘ _Just watching them makes me remember my parents and pack…_ ’

“…” Noctis didn’t say anything, but he did reach out and tug the small Shifter up against him gently. The blonde snuggled close, grateful for the comfort. Soon, though, the clouds moved to cover the moon again, and the pup looked up at the Nightwalker.

‘ _I guess it’s time to head home before daybreak, huh?_ ’ he guessed.

“Yeah…” Noct murmured. “Much as I’d love to stay and watch them…it’s bad for my health.”

‘ _I know, it’s okay. Maybe we can find them again sometime,_ ’ Prompto smiled.

“Unless they decide to migrate, sure.”

‘ _I know we’ll find them again sometime,_ ’ the Shifter replied, turning to follow Noctis as he started to head back to the car. Noctis smiled warmly as they walked. Eventually, they arrived at the car, Prompto shifting back to human form before climbing in with Noctis. He was quick to settle against the raven as Ignis drove them back, closing his eyes contently. Noctis smiled as he rubbed the boy’s head while they drove.

“Thank you, Noct,” the blonde murmured as he curled further against Noctis, a smile curving his lips.

“You’re very welcome, Prom.”

When they arrived back at the Citadel, Prompto climbed out of the car with the raven, before his stomach growled, making him blush.

“Haha. Hungry, huh?” Noctis chuckled.

“Yeah,” the pup nodded. “I guess we were out for a while, huh?”

“Much longer than you thought,” the Nightwalker smirked.

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Prompto laughed as they headed inside to get some dinner. Nodding with a smile, Noctis led the way ahead of Prompto. They reached the dining room in good time, and it wasn’t long after that Zidane, Mikoto, and Kuja arrived once the other two had sat down. As soon as Zidane was sitting, the taller blonde said, “Zidane, guess what Noct took me to see!”

“Huh? What what??” Zidane chirped curiously.

“Chocobos! We got to see wild Chocobos!”

“Whaaat?! That is so cool!!”

“I know!! They were so cute!” Prompto grinned. “I wanted to play with them, but I would have scared them off if I tried.”

“Awww… I wanna see ‘m too!!”

“I bet we could go sometime,” the wolf Shifter assured him, right as dinner was brought out, consisting of Prompto’s favorite: Peppery Dagerquil Rice. Ever since he’d first had it, it had quickly become one of the pup’s favorite meals. As they ate, Noctis gestured over to Ignis. Once the sandy blonde had gotten over, the Nightwalker spoke to the man quietly for a few moments, after which the spectacled man nodded and left again.

Prompto ate his dinner happily, occasionally taking drinks of his water to soothe the slight burn from the heat of the dish, before he perked up when Ignis left. He looked at Noctis curiously, since he had a mouth full of food. However, Noctis merely smirked, before he went back to his own food. The blonde rolled his eyes with a small smile, knowing the raven had something up his sleeve. He would just have to wait to find out.

The other Shifters didn’t seem to notice the exchange. Kuja, of course, obviously didn’t care, but Zidane definitely didn’t notice, and Mikoto was too focused on her food. Prompto resumed eating, focusing on his meal for the time being. As they finally finished their food, Ignis returned, carrying a tray covered by a large, silver dome with holes in it. Zidane blinked curiously at the sight, looking to Kuja for answers. However, the silver-haired youth shook his head to show he had no idea.

The pup perked up at the sight, as he was definitely confused now. This wasn’t something they’d done on his birthday before. At this point, even Mikoto looked curious, tilting her head as Ignis set the large object on the table. Once he was sure he had everyone’s attention, the man reached for the dome, and, with a flourish, lifted it away.

Immediately, Prompto’s jaw dropped, and he grinned brightly, seeing the large, delicious-looking cake on the tray. It was covered in white frosting, with decorative ribbons of blue and yellow wrapping around it. He looked at Noctis, knowing this had to have been the Nightwalker’s idea.

Smirking, the raven said simply, “Figured it was about time you had some _real_ birthday food this time around…”

“Thank you, Noct!” the wolf Shifter smiled happily, and then looked at Ignis. “Thank you, Ignis!”

Ignis chuckled as he adjusted his glasses, “Anytime, Prompto. Now, go ahead and blow out the candles.”

“Ah, and don’t forget to make a wish before you do,” Noctis pointed out.

“Okay!” Prompto chirped, before closing his eyes. ‘ _I wish for the good times to never end._ ’ Once he’d made his wish, he blew out the candles, just barely making it before the wax dripped onto the cake itself.

Chuckling, Noctis nodded to Ignis, and the other man removed the candles from the cake before he began to cut it into several slices, with Prompto’s piece being slightly bigger than the others’. The blonde smiled happily, before taking a bite of his cake, making him nearly squeal with delight at how good it tasted. As it was, he did a little happy dance in his seat.

Zidane blinked at the motion before nibbling on his own cake. And when he did, his eyes widened, after which he started munching on his slice rapidly. And Noctis merely laughed softly as he watched the Shifters munching happily on their cake. Prompto hummed contently, so happy with how his birthday had turned out.

Eventually, once the group had finished eating their cake, Prompto and Noctis bid the other three goodnight, before heading back to their room. As Prompto nearly skipped ahead of them, Noctis smirked as they reached his door. He didn’t say anything, though, as he opened the door, letting Prompto go in, first.

As soon as he got inside, the pup yipped when he saw a wrapped gift on Noctis’s bed, and he looked back at Noctis with wide eyes.

“What? Did you seriously think seeing the Chocobos was your only gift?” Noctis chuckled out.

“Yeah…” Prompto admitted, embarrassed, scuffing the toe of his shoe on the carpet.

The Nightwalker smiled, and reached down to ruffle his hair. “Well, it’s not. Go on and open it.” The Shifter nodded eagerly, before going to the bed and picking up the gift. He unwrapped it, and then looked curiously at the boxed item inside.

“What is it?” he asked, feeling stupid for having to ask.

Noctis smiled as he sat down next to Prompto on the bed. “It’s called a ‘camera’. It’s used to capture a moment on a piece of paper.”

“Really?!” Prompto gasped. “That is so cool!”

“Thought you’d like it,” Noctis chuckled. The blonde set the camera to the side, before hugging Noctis gratefully.

“Thank you, Noct,” he murmured, nuzzling the raven a little.

Smiling warmly, rubbing the blonde’s back gently. “You’re welcome, Prom.”

Prompto snuggled close, before yawning. “This was an awesome birthday, Noct,” he mumbled tiredly.

“Good,” Noctis chuckled as he stood up. “C’mon, let’s get changed and go to bed, kay?”

“Kay,” the Shifter nodded, before getting into his pajamas. Once the pair were changed into their pajamas and settled in bed, Prompto cuddled up to Noctis happily, a pleased sigh emitting from him. “Goodnight, Noct…” he whispered.

“Goodnight, Prom,” Noctis murmured, rubbing the boy's back softly, before he shut his eyes to go to sleep. And not long after, the blonde fell asleep, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUCH A CUTIE!! I LOVE LITTLE PROM-PROM!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T HURT US OR YOU WON'T GET ANOTHER WORD FROM US.

X*X(1 Year Later)X*X

When Noctis awoke after what felt like way too little sleep (which was nothing new, really), he groaned, rubbing at his eyes before he sat up. Or attempted to, anyway, since he was being held down by a familiar figure.

He chuckled as he looked down at Prompto as he looked down to the small Shifter curled up against his side, head on his stomach. With a small smile, he reached over and lightly patted the boy's head. “Morning, Prom.”

Prompto slowly opened his eyes, before yawning widely, then murmuring a sleepy, “Good morning, Noct.”

Noctis chuckled as he pushed himself up. “Hmm…” he groaned as he stretched his arms above his head. The pup smiled as he stretched out on Noctis’s lap in an almost cat-like fashion, and then climbed out of the raven’s bed to get dressed.

Noctis hummed as he rubbed the back of his neck, following after the boy to get dressed. “Ugh… I could really use more sleep… damn…”

“Noct, you never swear!” Prompto gasped. He’d heard Gladio swear (and was swiftly whacked over the head by Ignis for it), but not Noctis.

“Hm? Did I?” Noctis murmured curiously, regarding Prompto for a moment before he hummed. “…Oh yeah… Shoot.”

The blonde laughed at the Nightwalker’s mistake. “You’re silly, Noct.”

“Oh am I?” Noctis chuckled as he regarded the small blonde. “You wanna know _how_ silly I can get?” Prompto nodded with a laugh.

“Here’s how!!” And suddenly Noctis reached down and snagged the blonde up, before his fingers descended upon his sides.

“AH!!” the Shifter squealed, before he let out a peal of laughter, giggling like mad as he was tickled mercilessly.

Noctis laughed, with his fingers moving almost continuously now, not letting up in the slightest. “You give up?”

“YES!!” Prompto wailed, trying to squirm out of Noctis’s hold. With a small chuckle, Noctis finally relented as he let Prompto down again. The pup pouted with a flushed face as he was set back down. And Noctis merely chuckled as he moved to get dressed.

When Noctis turned his back to Prompto, however, the blonde smirked before shifting and creeping up on the raven…right before he pounced on him, pinning him to the floor.

‘ _Gotcha!_ ’ he grinned.

“Gah!” Noctis yelped, before he laughed. “Okay, I deserved that.” Prompto shifted back after stepping off of him, laughing.

After getting up, Noctis chuckled softly—before he choked as he suddenly collapsed to his knees, slapping a hand to his mouth.

“Noct?!” the Shifter yelped, whimpering worriedly. Shaking his head, Noctis took several heavy breaths, not moving his hand from his mouth at all. Prompto whimpered, terrified for his best friend. “Noct, what’s wrong?” he questioned.

Finally, Noctis lowered his hand, though he kept his gaze aimed down. “I’m…okay…don’t worry…”

“But…”

“It’s okay… I promise, I’m fine…”

The pup frowned, before asking, “What happened…?”

“I…I just need…to have a word with Ignis…” Noctis breathed out. Prompto whimpered, placing his hand on the raven’s shoulder. He _knew_ something was very wrong, though, because Noctis _always_ referred to Ignis as “Iggy”, unless something was wrong.

Noctis climbed up to his feet, breathing heavily. “It’s okay…” he assured again, before he moved to continue changing into his “day clothes”. The blonde watched him do so, his brows furrowed in concern. He had never seen Noctis like that before, or even behave like he was sick. Maybe if he asked Ignis later while Noctis was working, then the sandy blonde could tell him what happened.

As they headed for the dining room, Noctis’s breathing continued to be slightly heavier than was normal, but he didn’t bring it up again. When they reached it, Prompto happened to look outside through one of the few windows that faced the doorway into the dining room, and gasped.

“Noct, look! The moon’s red!” he told him.

Shockingly, that news made Noctis flinch. “R-red…?”

The pup, noticing the flinch, looked at the raven with a worried frown. “What’s wrong?”

However, Noctis didn’t respond to the question, as he, instead, brought up a hand to his mouth again, taking deep breaths through his nose. Now starting to freak out, Prompto let out a panicked noise, before running into the dining room to get Ignis.

“Ignis! Something’s wrong with Noct!” he yelled, making the sandy blonde look up in surprise from where he was talking with Kuja.

“Pardon?”

“He keeps covering his mouth like he’s gonna be sick!” the wolf Shifter told him urgently, grabbing his hand and tugging him out into the hallway.

Ignis almost stumbled after, frowning, before a look of realization came over him and he swiftly moved after. When they got back to Noctis, though, the Nightwalker had, once again, collapsed to the floor on his knees.

“Noct!” Ignis called out as he hurried to the raven’s side. Prompto gave a scared whine as he followed, as he had no idea what was going on.

“He kinda freaked out a little when I told him the moon was red,” he said.

Ignis glanced over to Prompto momentarily, but only for a moment before he helped Noctis up to his feet. “I see…” he murmured, as the Nightwalker leaned up against him. “Prompto, please wait with the others. I’ll be back later,” he said as he tugged Noctis back down the hallway.

The blonde whimpered, tears forming in his eyes, before he did as he was told, taking his seat and lowering his gaze to his lap. He was scared spitless for Noctis right now, and the last thing he wanted to do was be away from him when the raven was clearly not okay like he’d said he was.

“Prom…?” Zidane called out, poking him lightly. “You kay??”

“…No…” Prompto whispered, feeling like he was going to be sick now. He wanted to be with Noctis right now.

“…What happened?” Kuja asked, frowning softly as he walked over and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“I don’t know… Noct started acting like he was gonna be sick earlier, and collapsed to his knees while he was changing,” the wolf Shifter mumbled. “He said he was okay, but when we got outside the dining room, I saw the moon was red and told him, and he kinda freaked out before he covered his mouth like he was gonna be sick again. That’s when I got Ignis, but when we got back out of the dining room, Noct collapsed again, and Ignis told me to wait here while he took him somewhere…” A small sob broke free from him when he finished, and he choked out, “I-I’m scared for him…”

Zidane blinked, twice, before he pouted and clambered over to Prompto’s seat, settling next to the taller blonde and hugging him. “‘s Okay! Noct’s gonna be ‘kay for sure!”

Kuja nodded his head. “Agreed. If this was a serious case, I’m certain Ignis would’ve been more worried.”

“But… Ignis looked really worried when Noct was collapsed…” Prompto whimpered. Mikoto regarded them all quietly, before she looked over to the doorway. And when Prompto followed her gaze, it was in time to see Ignis walking into the room again. Immediately, the pup jumped out of his seat, making a beeline for the sandy blonde. “Ignis, can I _please_ see Noct? I’m really worried about him!”

Ignis blinked, before he frowned sadly and then crouched down to Prompto’s level. “Not now, Prompto…” the man said, placing a hand on his head. “Noctis needs a moment to recover. Just give him some time…alright?” Prompto swatted Ignis’s hand off of his head, hurt that he wasn’t being allowed see Noctis. With a growl, he shifted, then bolted out of the dining room, already tracking down his best friend’s freshest scent trail as he swiftly dashed down the hall to find him.

“Prompto!!” Ignis cried out, but the pup was already too far down the hall for him to catch up.

Given how Prompto was rushing, it took him only a few minutes to find the room where Noctis’s scent was coming from. Without missing a beat, the blonde shifted back before turning the doorknob and wrenching the door open with a panicked cry. He was so scared for the Nightwalker, and needed to be with him. When he got inside, he saw Noctis lying inside of a weird, ornate box-thing.

“Noct!” he cried. There was no response, though, which was enough a reason for Prompto to reach over and attempt to lift the lid off the box. As it fell away, he spotted Noctis lying inside of the box, on top of what looked like dirt, with his hands resting on his stomach. He seemed to be fast asleep.

“Noct, wake up…!” the Shifter pleaded, whimpering in fear. Sadly, the cry seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Noctis remained completely motionless. Prompto’s expression became determined then, and he shifted before climbing into the box and curling up on the raven’s lap. He wouldn’t leave until Noctis was awake again.

“… _hah_ …”

‘ _Noct…?_ ’ the blonde uttered, raising his head to look at his best friend. The raven groaned heavily, his fingers twitching as his eyelids quivered—as a pale violet light seemed to glow from under them. ‘ _Noct!_ ’ Prompto whined, leaning in to lick his cheek.

However, the moment he did, Noctis’s hand suddenly snapped up and clamped down on his throat as his eyes snapped open. And when they did, his irises were glowing a vicious purple-violet. The pup yelped loudly, struggling in the Nightwalker’s grasp, now scared for himself, as he found he couldn’t breathe with the way Noctis was grabbing him.

Barely a second later, the Nightwalker suddenly had him pinned to the floor, making him smack his head against the dirt, as a cold hissing sound filled the air. However, when Prompto’s sight refocused, the first thing he saw was the pair of long fangs in Noctis’s mouth.

‘ _NOCT!!_ ’ Prompto screamed, terrified at this point. He didn’t know what was going on, and it made him even _more_ scared. The scream seemed to snap Noctis out of it, as the glow disappeared as he blinked rapidly. The second he realized what he was doing, he gasped and threw himself backwards and away. The blonde shifted back, kneeling on the floor as tears formed in his eyes once more, a sob tearing from his throat as he began to shake.

“Prompto!” Ignis’s voice called out suddenly as the sandy blonde came rushing into the room, with the three other Shifters and even Gladio close behind. As Noctis pressed himself further against the back of the box, Ignis wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“N-no…” Prompto stuttered out in a whisper. He didn’t understand; why would Noctis try to hurt him at all? Ignis sighed as he tugged the boy back and away, before he glanced to Gladio. The brunette nodded, and went over to Noctis, and in Prompto’s mind he looked like he was trying to keep the raven from reaching anyone else…including him. Despite what had happened, though, the pup struggled in Ignis’s grasp.

“Noct…?” he called out timidly.

Noctis was gasping for breath, hands clinging to the edge of the box he’d been in, keeping his gaze aimed at the floor. “P-Prom…g…go with Ignis…please…just…go…!”

Prompto inhaled sharply, hurt by the words, before pulling out of Ignis’s grasp and turning and running from the room with a choked sob. All he’d wanted to do was help Noctis and be with him, but the raven clearly didn’t want him around. He soon shifted to give himself a proper boost in speed to get further way, and all the others, including Noctis, could hear was a heartbroken howl as he ran through the hallway.

“Shit…” Noctis hissed out as he reached up to grab his head, still gasping for breath. Gladio frowned at the sight, making sure to keep his guard up.

Ignis tisked at the situation they were in, before he looked to Kuja. “Kuja, can I ask you to go after him? Make sure he’s not getting himself in trouble…”

The silverette regarded Ignis for a few moments, before he sighed and shook his head. “If I must…” he murmured, before he turned and ran off. However, halfway down the hall, he kicked off from the ground and shifted into a silver falcon, speeding down the hallways as fast as he could.

The trouble with trying to catch up to Prompto was that he was unusually fast for a wolf Shifter. The blonde practically streaked through the hallways, heading straight for the entrance to the Citadel. He soon managed to get outside, before running into the forest, not once looking back.

‘ _Of all the places…! Little idiot!!_ ’ Kuja hissed, snapping his wings and lunging back the way he’d come. Just outside the room, he shifted back and ran into the room. “Ignis! He went into the forest!”

Ignis’s eyes widened in alarm at the news, before he bit his lip to stifle a curse. “Why did he even…!”

“Want me to go after him, Iggy?” Gladio offered.

“That may be wi—”

“Excuse me for intruding!” a familiar, female voice suddenly called out, just as a girl with short, black hair appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, startling the Shifters there. “Sir! We have a problem!”

“Yu…Yuffie…?” Noctis choked out.

“What’s going on, Yuffie?” Gladio demanded.

“Bran Bal’s moved out. They’ve sent out forces to retrieve the Shifters taken from them,” Yuffie said firmly. Kuja, Zidane and Mikoto gasped in alarm, and the twins immediately rushed over to huddle by Kuja.

“Where are they now?” Gladio questioned urgently.

“Yyyeeah… here’s the thing… they’re just outside in the forests outside of the Citadel…”

As soon as she said that, Noctis’s eyes widened in alarm. “Wh…what?!”

Gladio resisted the urge to swear, lest he get smacked by Ignis for doing so around the twins (considering they were still young), and he looked at Ignis in silent question.

Ignis snarled softly, struggling just as much with his desire to curse. “Summon the Kingsglaive! We need to get to Prompto before _they_ do!”

“Right,” the larger male nodded, looking to Yuffie.

“I will see it done,” she said, and then she was gone in another poof of smoke. With that taken care of, Gladio and Ignis herded the siblings out of the room, leaving Noctis alone inside.

 

X*X(Prompto)X*X

Prompto ran as fast as he could through the forest, surprisingly not out of breath yet. However, the sobs wrenching their way out of his chest slowed him down a little, and he was oblivious to any signs of danger.

The problem came when he ran straight over a net trap, the netting swiftly surrounding him and drawing a shocked yelp from him as he was snared and pulled into the air to hang there in the net. Immediately, he panicked, remembering from when his parents had shown them to him when he was little, and told him to watch for them. Now he was caught in one, and he _knew_ that hunters were behind the trap.

Shortly after, several men walked out from the undergrowth, all of them hunters, from the looks of it.

“This it…? Doesn’t look like it, does it…” mumbled one.

“Not sure… boss said there were two ‘blondes’… and you don’t see that many ‘blonde’ wolves, do ya?” said another one. Prompto’s gaze reflected his fear, his worst nightmares coming to life after all this time.

“Well…let’s get this beast to the boss, shall we? He’s the only one who can say for sure.”

“Let’s do.”

‘ _N-NO!!_ ’ the wolf Shifter thought to himself in a panic as they moved to get the netting down. This couldn’t be happening, it just couldn’t!

Unfortunately, it was definitely happening, as the men carried the netting (with Prompto in it) away, not even seeming to care as he wriggled in the net. Before long, they arrived at what appeared to be a camp, which was filled with several dozen soldiers. But the hunters ignored them all and instead continued to walk in silence toward the far end of the camp.

Prompto struggled harder, growling as they got closer to the larger tent at the far end, knowing that if he was brought into there, it was all over.

‘ _Noct… I **need** you…_ ’ he thought desperately, unable to stop the tiny glimmer of hope that the raven would come and save him, though it was unlikely.

As they entered the tent, one of the hunters called out, “Yo, Boss! Got a minute?”

At the far end of the tent sat an old man, wearing a heavy black armor. “Hm?” he said as he lifted his head. “What is it?”

The blonde growled dangerously at the sight of the old man, hoping to deter him from doing anything to him but letting him go.

“Caught this guy in the trap,” said the hunter who’d been holding the net, holding up said netting with the Shifter. “This the one we’re after?”

The old man hummed as he stood up and walked over solemnly, his stern gaze aimed right at Prompto as he did. The pup snarled angrily, wordlessly threatening the man.

The man regarded the pup for a moment, before he snorted. “No…this is not one of them,” he said. “However…it _is_ a Shifter… that much is certain.”

“Ooookay…sooo…do we keep this one?” asked one of the hunters.

“…Hmm…” the man hummed, thinking. “…Yes, perhaps that would be smart…”

Immediately, Prompto’s eyes snapped wide open, and his mind started to kick into overdrive. He was going to suffer at the hands of hunters, just like his entire pack had…

“Though I would’ve preferred to have those three back…he’ll have to do…” the man suddenly said, moving back to where he had been. That’s when it clicked that this was the human responsible for making Kuja, Zidane, and Mikoto into Shifters. This had to mean he was going to be experimented on and tortured. As soon as the hunters began to drag him out, he struggled wildly, going into full-blown panic.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Prompto wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the hunters had practically thrown him into a cage that was much too small for him, even though he wasn’t even fully grown yet, but it was long enough for his voice to go hoarse from all the barking and howling he’d done. Everyone at the camp ignored him, and it didn’t seem like anyone was even prepared to look at him after the first initial howls.

However, as he was on the verge of passing out, a sound caught his ear from the back of the tent where he had been kept. He weakly looked up as best as he could to try and see what it was, hoping it wasn’t more trouble.

“…Prom…?” a quiet voice whispered in the darkness. The pup’s bright blue eyes widened at the familiar voice, and he whined pitifully. Only one person called him ‘Prom’, and that was…

‘ _Noct…?_ ’ he called out tentatively.

Silence followed the call, but soon enough, a familiar presence appeared by the cage as the owner crouched down. “Hey…” the Nightwalker whispered as he placed a hand on the cage. Unfortunately, Prompto flinched involuntarily when he touched the cage, remembering the events from before.

“Hey, easy…easy…” Noctis whispered as he studied the cage. “I’ll get you out in a minute…”

‘ _Why…?_ ’ the Shifter whimpered, looking away. ‘ _I thought…you didn’t want me around…_ ’

Noctis flinched briefly, before he bit his lip. “That’s not…” Noctis started, before he sighed. “Prom…you _saw_ what happened before… I…I just…I didn’t want to hurt you…”

‘ _I trusted you, and I would have trusted you not to hurt me…_ ’ Prompto mumbled, trembling as he tried not to cry more. ‘ _Or you could have even **told** me what was going on, instead of lying to me…_ ’

“Prom…I…I didn’t _lie_ … I just…didn’t want you to hate me…”

‘ _You told me you were okay, and you weren’t,_ ’ the blonde argued. ‘ _And I could never hate you… Unless you really **don’t** want me around, that is…_ ’

“Of _course_ I want you around!” Noctis urged, sighing. “Prom…I…I scare _myself_ when I…when I get like _that_ … Can you blame me for not wanting to subject you to seeing something like that?”

‘ _I’ve never kept anything from you, but it’s like you keep on hiding things from me. When will I know who you really are?_ ’ Prompto snapped in frustration. ‘ _I thought I knew…_ ’

“…” Noctis sighed softly. “…I know I’ve…not told you everything about me…and that was my mistake…but…I didn’t want you to judge me for _what_ I was rather than _who_ … like so many others have…”

The pup growled at that. ‘ _Noct, the weirdest part of knowing you is that you drink blood, and ever since you said you wouldn’t hurt me, I’ve never cared what you are. So why would I judge you now?_ ’ he pointed out. ‘ _That’s mean for you to think I’d be that shallow._ ’

Noctis bit his lip, before he sighed. “…I get it…” he murmured softly, reaching out for the cage’s lock. “…I’ll unlock this, then you can go wherever you want…”

Prompto quietly waited for him to unlock the cage, and as soon as he had, he practically jumped out and onto Noctis, pinning him to the floor of the tent.

‘ _I don’t know where you **think** I’m going, but I wanna go home,_ ’ he huffed, before giving a toothy grin.

Startled, Noctis looked up to the blonde wolf curiously, before he allowed a small smile as he reached for the blonde’s head, ruffling his fur. “Yeah, sure…” he said with a chuckle as he stood up. Prompto’s tail wagged as he stepped back, happy they were okay again. However, their situation dawned on him, and he frowned as his tail stopped moving.

‘ _How do we get out of here, though…?_ ’ he asked.

“…” Noctis didn’t respond immediately, before he crouched down and scratched the pup behind his head. “Don’t worry… I’ll take care of it…”

‘ _…If you’re gonna kill them, I wanna watch. I want to see them pay for catching me and for what they did to Kuja, Zidane, and Mikoto,_ ’ the blonde said bluntly.

The Nightwalker regarded the pup for a bit before he sighed and walked to the tent’s entrance. “Guess I can’t talk you out of this one…”

‘ _Nope,_ ’ Prompto shrugged, following closely.

With a soft sigh, Noctis reached for the flap. “Alright… Just stay out of sight, okay?”

‘ _Okay, Noct,_ ’ the Shifter nodded, smiling as he hid behind some crates.

Nodding, Noctis wordlessly opened the tent entrance, tossing it to the side so that it remained open. And then, as he stepped out, he let out a small hiss…as he seemed to fade into the dark. Prompto listened and watched silently from his hiding place as Noctis left, hoping his best friend would be okay.

Just then, there was a scream of surprise, before it devolved into a gargled cry, which immediately triggered the rest of the camp to break out into panic. The blonde perked up at the sounds, as he hadn’t seen anything. His gaze adjusted to the darkness quickly as he focused on the surroundings outside, watching intently.

“What the hell is going on?!” one of the soldiers screamed.

“Did the Kingsglaive find us?!” another one demanded.

However, the moment he finished that, a cold chuckle reverberated through the air. “Oh you _wish_ it was the Kingsglaive…” a familiar voice chuckled. “I’m actually thankful you came…after all…I haven’t had breakfast yet…”

Just as the soldier whirled around, someone’s hand snapped around his head, twisting it to the side. And then, with a loud hissing noise, Noctis snapped his mouth shut on the man’s throat, his eyes glowing a pure violet.

Prompto shivered a little as he watched the raven feed, and listened to that cold tone of his. However, he knew Noctis would _never_ be like that with him, so he wasn’t scared of him.

Once he was done, Noctis threw the (now dead) soldier away, as the other soldiers finally snapped out of it. However, even as they started shooting at him, Noctis merely sidestepped in a flash of crystalline blue light, rushing in toward the other soldiers with unnatural speeds. The pup’s jaw dropped, and he just _knew_ this was how he’d dealt with the hunters that had killed his pack when they first met.

Barely 15 minutes later, the screams of the hunters and soldiers had completely stopped and was replaced with only the occasional garble on liquid, but even that didn’t last long. Noctis took a few moments to look around the camp, his eyes still glowing violet, before he shut them as he snorted, walking back to where Prompto was at, wiping at his mouth to remove the blood left on his lips and chin.

Prompto stepped out from hiding as Noctis got close, and his tail was wagging. ‘ _I don’t think any differently of you, Noct,_ ’ he promised with a smile, going up to him and nuzzling his leg. ‘ _I’m not scared. I know you wouldn’t hurt me, so I trust you._ ’

Noctis looked down at Prompto for a moment, before he crouched down with a smile. “Good… I’m glad…” he said quietly as he held out one arm. The Shifter took the hint, and climbed into the Nightwalker’s arms, yawning a bit before tucking his nose into Noctis’s neck.

‘ _Let’s go home, Noct…_ ’ he murmured tiredly. And with that, Noctis carried him back to the Citadel…and home.


	6. Chapter 6

X*X(8 Years Later)X*X

Prompto was now 18 years old, but despite this, he still slept in Noctis’s room. He’d tried sleeping in his own room when he turned 13, but his old nightmares of his pack being killed and of him being captured when he was 10 returned the first night, so he went back to sleeping in his own bed in the Nightwalker’s room. He still curled up with Noctis in the colder or stormy periods, due to a bad experience when he was stranded in a storm when he was 4, but the raven never complained once about it.

The camera he’d gotten for his 9th birthday had long since been retired, as he had gotten a nicer one for his 13th birthday, and he’d made many memories with both cameras, but the ones with the newer camera looked better. He definitely loved taking lots of photos with it, and keeping most of them in photo albums over the years.

As for the three siblings, Kuja, Zidane, and Mikoto, they had adjusted to life in their new home surprisingly well with time. Prompto, Noctis, and everyone had helped Zidane and Mikoto to learn to speak, and nowadays, the two blonde boys were thick as thieves. They enjoyed playing in the garden together, or hanging out with the new Chocobos Prompto had convinced Noctis to purchase for his thirteenth birthday. The wolf Shifter was more than happy to help care for them, even though the staff typically did most of the work. They had only two of the giant yellow birds right now, but already, the female, Sora, had laid eggs fathered by the male, Choco, so while she would sit on them to keep them warm in her nest, no one could ride on her back, obviously.

Prompto highly enjoyed running in wolf form with Zidane on Choco’s back while Ignis and Gladio watched them, since Noctis couldn’t watch them during the day. Especially since the raven would be sleeping while the two Shifters chose to stay up late to play and run around in the early morning sun. It usually took Kuja yelling at them to get some sleep to finally stop, since he had a point. And on rare occasions, it took Mikoto dragging Zidane in by the ear while Prompto laughed his ass off as he followed.

The blonde pup had grown considerably during his time with Noctis, and now he was able to better defend himself, thanks to Noctis teaching him how to shoot a gun after the hunter incident 8 years before. He’d actually caught on quite quickly with the gun he was given, and could shoot targets from far away with ease, always hitting the bullseye. Zidane had started using daggers himself, while Kuja didn’t bother with weapons, and Mikoto chose not to bother with fighting or weapons. And the short blonde was quite efficient with the blades, too.

However, Prompto had started to feel a bit strange recently when he was with Noctis, and only Noctis. His heart would sometimes race when the pair were sitting close together or when the Shifter would lie against Noctis in wolf form in the raven’s bed. This led to the blonde sleeping in his own bed more and more often, so as to avoid that feeling, as it wasn’t that comfortable. The Shifter didn’t understand what the issue was, as he’d always been completely comfortable around Noctis ever since the raven had brought him home (besides the blood moon incident), and there hadn’t been any major changes in his life.

The blonde yawned widely as he woke up that ‘morning’ in his bed, in human form as usual when he slept in his own bed. He looked over at the Nightwalker who was still fast asleep, knowing he would have to wake him up before Ignis decided to do so himself. Lately, to wake Noctis up, he’d taken mainly to either barking or howling (once he’d learned how to), just to change it up occasionally. And sometimes, if the raven was being really stubborn, he would pounce on him. Sliding out of bed and shifting, Prompto padded over to his best friend’s bed, sitting down next to it before tossing his head back and howling.

Noctis cried out in alarm, bolting up from his bed, before he realized what had happened. “Oh for… Was that _necessary_ , Prom?!”

‘ _It’s fun to howl!_ ’ Prompto laughed, wagging his tail before he shifted back. “Now come on, before Ignis serves breakfast without us!”

“Alright alright…” Noctis groaned as he pushed himself out of bed and toward the closet.

As he went, though, Prompto couldn’t help but notice how, despite the years, Noctis really hadn’t changed a bit. Whereas Prompto, Zidane, Mikoto, Kuja, and even Ignis and Gladio had aged gradually, Noctis had not changed one bit. Vaguely, he wondered why he’d never noticed before.

‘ _Maybe it’s because he’s a Nightwalker…?_ ’ the Shifter thought to himself as he got dressed. After all, he hadn’t tried to look extensively into what Noctis is. He avoided watching the raven as he got dressed, though, something he’d taken to doing ever since he started feeling so strangely around Noctis. Once Prompto was dressed, he smiled at his best friend. “Ready?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Noctis sighed out as he stretched his arms briefly above his head, causing his shirt to hitch up a bit. The blonde quickly averted his gaze before leading the way out and down to the dining room, where Kuja, Zidane, and Mikoto were already there, waiting for their breakfasts.

“Morning, guys!” Prompto greeted.

Zidane grinned at the taller blonde and raised his hand in cheeky salute. “Hey.”

While he and Mikoto had started out around the same height as Prompto, they had stopped growing when they turned 14, though this certainly didn’t stop them. They’d both let their hair grow out, with Zidane’s hair secured in a single ponytail at the back of his head, Mikoto had two ponytails resting on her shoulders.

Kuja, however, had continued growing until he was almost Noctis’s height. While Zidane and Mikoto had trimmed their hair down to be what most would consider manageable, Kuja’s hair hung down his back to rest just below his waist, curving up in layers on occasion, while a single strand of hair (resembling a bird’s feather), arched up from his left temple. And if that wasn’t enough to differentiate him from the twins, he was the only one of the trio (including Mikoto) to actually wear makeup.

“Hm… Morning, dear,” he said casually from where he sat, not even bothering to look up. Prompto shrugged after sharing a glance with Zidane, before taking his seat. Zidane merely returned the shrug with a small grin, not really bothered at all. Once the taller blonde and Noctis were seated, Ignis and the staff came out shortly after with their breakfasts, which was one of the Nightwalker’s favorites, Grease Monkey Schnitzel Sandwich. Prompto dug right in, trying to ignore the way his heartbeat sped up a little from being next to Noctis.

As they ate, Noctis didn't even seem to notice the blonde’s discomfort, as he quietly ate his own breakfast. After a while, though, he did look up. “So, Kuja…did you get your bags packed, yet?”

“Yes, sir,” the silverette said casually in between bites.

Since a few years, Kuja had discovered his affinity to music, which was one of the few things he truly enjoyed doing. However, while they did have a piano in the Citadel, they didn’t have any actual teachers of music. As such, Noctis had offered the boy to get an actual scholarship in Treno, where they specialized in that.

“You know we’re gonna miss you, Kuja,” Prompto told him.

“I’m sure you will, dear,” the Shifter said calmly. The wolf Shifter pouted at the reply, but didn’t say anything else as he returned to his food. Noctis merely chuckled with a small shake of the head, focusing back on his own food. Once they were finished eating, Prompto looked at Zidane.

“Wanna go see how Sora and the eggs are doing?” he asked. The pair had made it part of their daily routine to check on Choco, Sora, and their eggs while they tended to the birds.

“Sounds like a plan!” Zidane chirped with a grin. “They should be about ready to hatch at this point.”

“I hope so,” the taller of the two blonde boys smiled as he got up. “I’ll catch up to ya in a bit, Noct!” The Nightwalker nodded as the two blondes got up and quickly departed from the room toward the Chocobo pens. As they went, Prompto’s thoughts once again went to Noctis, and how he’d been feeling so strange around him. He just didn’t understand why he was feeling so weird now after all these years.

“…Helloooooo! Eos to Prompto!” Zidane exclaimed, waving his hand in front of the other’s face.

“Huh?”

“I was talking to you, dude!”

“Sorry, was thinking,” Prompto apologized. “What were you saying?”

“Dude, seriously, what’s up with you?” Zidane asked, putting his hands on his hips. “You’ve been seriously spacing out for weeks now!”

“Sorry, sorry…” the wolf Shifter mumbled. “Just been feeling kinda weird, is all…”

“I hadn’t noticed… esh…”

“It’s okay… ‘Sides, its not like I’ve made it obvious, y’know.”

Zidane merely hummed, as he put his hands behind his head, continuing to walk down the halls. Prompto sighed internally, but decided to drop the subject.

“So, what were you saying earlier?”

“I was talking about whether you wanted to come with Miko and I when we’re heading to Lindbulm later this month,” Zidane said casually. The taller teen thought about it, before he sighed.

“I dunno… Can I think on it?” he asked. “Sorry, I’ve just been here for so long that I’m used to life in the Citadel.”

“Sure,” the blonde said with a shrug. Prompto frowned slightly as they walked, unseen by Zidane, as he thought about his friend’s offer. He’d honestly like to go, but he just knew he’d miss Noctis too much, and he was afraid he’d have nightmares again without the raven’s presence.

Before he could think about it too much, Zidane suddenly whistled. “Yooo! Choco!”

At the call, the golden Chocobo looked up from where he’d been pecking at the ground. Once he saw the pair coming, though, he chirped happily and came bounding over.

“Hey, buddy,” Zidane chuckled as he petted the Chocobo’s neck. “You doing good?”

“Kweh~”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” the wolf Shifter chuckled. “Let’s go check on Sora and the eggs.”

“Right,” Zidane said with a nod, as Choco gave a merry “Kweh~” and led them over to where Sora was at. When they reached her, they saw the honey-colored Chocobo fawning over the eggs. She briefly looked up at the three when they came over, but her attention soon returned to the eggs.

“I betcha they’ll hatch anytime here in the next hour,” Prompto smiled as Choco joined her.

“Given how she’s fussing about them, they must be,” Zidane said with a small grin as he crouched down by the nest, well out of reach so he wouldn’t bother Sora. Prompto sat down with him, crossing his legs, and the pair waited patiently for Sora’s eggs to hatch. It only took about 30 minutes until they finally noticed a change. Prompto heard the faint sound of cracking as one of the eggs started to crack open, and he perked up eagerly.

“One of the eggs is starting to hatch!” he gasped.

Zidane blinked once, before he grinned and leaned forward, as the two Chocobos chirped and regarded their eggs anxiously. And soon enough, the first beak broke through the shell, a small “Kwih~” escaping it.

“Aww!” the taller blonde practically cooed, watching as the Chocochick struggled its way out of the egg, its damp feathers steadily beginning to dry now that it was out of the egg. It wasn’t long before the other three eggs started to hatch as well, and after about 10 minutes, they had all hatched. The four Chocochicks gave small, tired chirps as they settled back down in the nest. “Congrats, you two. They’re adorable,” Prompto told Choco and Sora with a grin.

“Kweh~”

“Heheh, ya did good, you two,” Zidane chuckled with his usual grin. Sora soon settled herself over her chicks, keeping them warm once she sat down.

“Let’s leave them be for now,” the wolf Shifter told his friend, getting up. “We can check on them again later.”

“Sounds good,” Zidane agreed. With that said, the two blondes got up and left the new parents to their business, and Prompto’s thoughts, once again, drifted to Noctis. He wondered who he could ask about how he’s been feeling, or if he should even ask anyone. As they walked, Prompto paused as he heard Kuja practicing his music in the ballroom.

“Mind if I drop in on Kuja for a bit? I wanna listen to him play one last time before he leaves,” the taller teen said.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, sure,” Zidane quipped with a shrug. “Got some things to do, anyhoo.”

“Cool. Catch ya later, Zidane,” Prompto smiled, before heading into the ballroom, the sound of the door shutting behind him gaining the silverette’s attention.

“Mm?” Kuja hummed as he paused in his playing, looking up quietly.

“Hey Kuja,” the blonde greeted. “Mind if I listen to you play for a bit? I’m gonna miss it when you go.”

“…Mmm. If you wish…” Kuja said simply, before he set his fingers down on the keys. And then he wordlessly began to press down again. Shifting so he could get comfortable on the marble floor of the ballroom, Prompto curled up near the older Shifter’s feet, giving him a couple feet of space. Again, his thoughts drifted to Noctis as he rested there, listening to Kuja’s music.

As the notes continued to reverberate through the room, with Kuja’s feet lightly pressing down on the pedals every now and again, the older Shifter did nothing to even further acknowledge the blonde. Instead, he continued to play.

And this continued for a good ten minutes before Kuja finally stopped. When he did, the wolf Shifter raised his head, looking up at the falcon Shifter curiously.

‘ _Why’d ya stop?_ ’ he inquired.

“…Your moodiness is distracting,” Kuja said simply, as if it was obvious.

‘ _Huh?_ ’

“You’re being quite obvious, dear,” Kuja said as he shut the piano and then turned so he could lean sideways on it and rest one leg over the other. “So… what’s got you so worked up, hm?”

Prompto sighed before shifting back and seating himself cross-legged on the floor. “Damn, you’re good,” he chuckled, but the sound was humorless. “I don’t know why, but I’ve been feeling weird around Noct lately… Whenever I’m close to him, my heartbeat goes faster, and I feel a bit awkward around him sometimes… It’s never been like that between us before, so I don’t know why things have changed…”

Kuja raised a curious eyebrow, shifting so that he could lean on his hand, humming softly. “I see…and you’ve absolutely no inkling as to what causes it?”

“No, nothing…”

“Hmm…interesting…”

“Any ideas, Kuja?” the blonde asked, hoping his friend would have some idea of what he was going through.

“…Mmm…perhaps…” the older Shifter said mysteriously.

“What?”

“I believe I’ve read about this before…somewhere…mmm…now what was it about again?”

“Please tell me you know what this is. I don’t like not knowing…” Prompto mumbled, but his expression was hopeful.

“Hmm… ah right, of course…”

“Hm?”

“I believe…hmm… Yes, I believe…this was similar to when someone in the novel I read fell in love,” Kuja said with a smirk.

“Wait, so…you’re saying…” the wolf Shifter trailed off, his bright blue eyes wide with disbelief.

“I do believe you’ve been steadily falling in love with our host, dear,” the other Shifter chuckled.

“But…I can’t! I know he’d never see me that way, and besides, he basically raised me!” Prompto whimpered.

“Hmm…you sure of that?” Kuja asked simply.

“What do you mean?” the blonde frowned in confusion.

“I’m merely saying that it may be better to not immediately assume one feels one way without confirming it with them in person, dear.”

“But…I don’t know what I’d do if he doesn’t feel the same…” Prompto mumbled, lowering his gaze. He looked like a lost pup again, and certainly felt like one, too.

“Would you rather _not_ know how he feels in turn, then? Hm?” Kuja asked simply.

“No, but I’m scared… I don’t want to be turned down…”

Kuja sighed and reached down to boop Prompto on the nose. The wolf Shifter blinked in surprise at the boop to his nose. “No one ever gotten anywhere by shying away from their fears, dear.”

“Right…” he sighed.

“But if he doesn’t feel the same…perhaps it would be an idea to be away from here for a while as you attempt to recollect yourself.”

Prompto thought about Kuja’s suggestion, heavily considering his options. Maybe it would be best if he just confessed to Noctis sooner than later, and not let this eat him from the inside out. Kuja waited silently, letting Prompto mull on that for a little longer, before he finally sat up properly and turned back around. He didn’t bother to say anything else as he went back to playing.

Internally sighing, the blonde got to his feet and quietly left, heading back to his and Noctis’s room. He slid under his comforter on his bed, and thought hard about his options, hoping beyond hope that Noctis would feel the same. It was difficult to believe, though, considering the raven had basically raised him since he was five. Honestly, he was shocked he didn’t see the Nightwalker as just a father-figure and friend.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Noctis sighed and then groaned as he stretched his arms over his head. It had been a long day with his duties, and it really was no wonder that he was feeling it now. And somehow, even after the amount of years he’d been doing all this, it hadn’t gotten any easier.

‘ _Oh well… I have enough time to get used to this, I suppose…_ ’ he mused, as he moved over to his room to change so they could see off Kuja in a few hours.

As soon as he heard the door click open, Prompto stiffened under his blanket. He didn’t feel ready for this, but he knew it needed to be talked about. Noctis didn’t notice Prompto, though; he just ran a hand through his hair and headed toward the closet to get changed. The blonde felt his heartbeat pick up its speed, like usual around Noctis, and he tried to control his breathing. Unfortunately, he breathing started to become audible, enough so to where the Nightwalker could hear him.

“Hm?” Curious, Noctis turned around and looked over, blinking when he spotted Prompto. “Prom?” Prompto gave a tiny whimper, but didn’t look at Noctis. Frowning, Noctis walked over to the blonde and gently placed a hand on his back. “Hey…”

The Shifter reflexively flinched at the touch, not meaning to, but it almost felt too good, in a weird way. “Prom?” Noctis asked worriedly, as he sat down on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“…” Prompto bit his lip, trying desperately not to cry. He was _so_ scared right now, because he didn’t know what he’d do if Noctis didn’t love him back.

Frowning in worry, Noctis sighed softly. After a moment of thought, he reached out and pulled Prompto up and into a hug. “Hey, c’mon…” he murmured softly, rubbing his back. “It’s okay…it’s okay…”

The blonde whimpered, trembling against Noctis. This was too hard, but there was no going back now. The raven already knew something was up, so Prompto couldn’t just lie and tell him everything was fine. How was he even supposed to breach that subject, anyway?

As they sat there silently, with Noctis gently shushing the blonde and rubbing his back. After a long time, the Nightwalker finally whispered, “I’m here if you want to talk, Prom…”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, the Shifter whispered, “…I don’t know what to do…”

Noctis didn’t speak immediately. He just rubbed the blonde’s back, holding him close to try and comfort him. He hoped this would help, though it didn’t seem to…

After several minutes of Prompto trying to figure out what to say, he finally mumbled, “…I…I’m in…love…but I-I’m scared they don’t…feel the same…”

Noctis tensed in surprise at the words, blinking. After a few moments, the Nightwalker frowned softly, before the expression faded. “Why do you think they don’t?” he asked kindly, rubbing the blonde’s shoulder softly.

The blonde shivered at the rubbing, his heart racing. He wanted to know, but he didn’t know what he would do if Noctis didn’t love him back. Unable to contain himself, though, he pulled away, choking out, “Because it’s you…! And you raised me, for fuck’s sake…!” Without waiting for a response, he shifted and bolted for the door, too scared of being rejected to find out the truth.

However, before he even had the chance to leave, Noctis was already there, having easily warped over to him, and grabbed the blonde wolf by the scruff of his neck as he went. Prompto yelped at the grab, struggling to free himself. It was almost like when he was five and Noctis had caught him when they first met. Deja vu…

“Prom…calm down…” the Nightwalker murmured as he crouched down and, just like during their first meeting, he rubbed his fingers along the blonde’s head and back. The Shifter trembled despite this, his bright blue eyes reflecting his fear and panic. Noctis didn’t let up, though, as he gently scratched Prompto behind his ear with his fingers. Slowly, _very_ slowly, Prompto’s trembling stopped, but he still looked terrified, and when he stopped shaking, he froze up, petrified.

“Prom, easy…” Noctis murmured, as he shifted his hand to rub along the blonde’s sides tenderly. The blonde continued to remain stiffened up, unable to relax. His body had gone into fight or flight mode, and he couldn’t run, but he wouldn’t dare to hurt Noctis, period. Several minutes passed, before he could finally bring himself to speak.

‘…Let me go…please…’ he whispered, his voice through his telepathy quivering.

“If I do, you’ll just run away,” the Nightwalker pointed out solemnly. Prompto lowered his gaze miserably to the carpet, a pitiful whine escaping him in response to Noctis’s words.

“…Will you listen to what I have to say if I let you go?” Noctis asked after a few moments. The Shifter paused, and then nodded after a minute, still not looking at the raven. Satisfied, Noctis slowly let go of Prompto’s neck, though he held his hand above him, to keep him from bolting. Prompto crouched down, but remained where he was.

When he did, the Nightwalker gently reached out and once more ran his hand along his back. After a few long moments of silence, Noctis finally spoke again. “You know…it’s not very polite to try and run off without waiting for one to respond.”

‘ _…I was scared, and still am…_ ’ the blonde whimpered.

“Easy, Prom…” the Nightwalker murmured, gently scratching behind his ear. Prompto involuntarily leaned into the touch, unsure of what would happen. Smiling softly, Noctis settled down a little better. “So…would you mind shifting back?” The Shifter hesitated, but did as requested, his gaze still lowered.

“Prom…look at me…”

Prompto whimpered, slowly looking up at the Nightwalker. His bright blue gaze had fear swirling within them, like he was afraid to be hurt. When he did, Noctis offered him a soft smile and placed a hand on his cheek. The blonde had to resist the urge to flinch again, biting his lip to keep himself from doing so.

“It’s okay…” Noctis murmured. “I’m not going to hurt you, Prom…”

‘ _Not physically, anyway…_ ’ Prompto thought dejectedly, tears forming in his eyes. The Nightwalker didn’t respond immediately, as he reached out with his thumb to wipe the beginning tears away. A soft whine emitted from the smaller male’s throat at the contact, and he just wished that the raven would give him an answer. He didn’t want to go through this anymore.

However, the moment he thought that, Noctis suddenly moved in and gently pressed his lips to Prompto’s. Those bright blue eyes immediately snapped wide open, and Prompto froze, stunned.

Now, he’d read back in his early teens once about how humans and human-like creatures would kiss to show affection, but it didn’t really make sense to him. After all, he remembered his parents usually nuzzling him or licking his forehead gently to show him affection. Then again, he’s a Shifter, and Shifters tended to do things differently, but he had been in human form for most of his life by now, and as he’d learned in his lessons, was born in human form before his body shifted into a wolf pup, since he wouldn’t have remembered due to him being a newborn back then. That’s how Shifters developed the way they did as their animal counterparts.

This, however, felt good, despite how new it was for him, and despite his initial shock, he let his instincts take over, and began to kiss back, albeit a bit hesitantly. This seemed to please Noctis, as he hummed softly against the Shifter’s lips, as his hand slipped back and into the blonde’s hair, tugging him a little closer. Prompto’s hands reflexively braced against the raven’s shoulders as he was tugged, but instead of pushing away, he gripped them firmly, almost as though he was trying to grasp onto something.

A soft chuckle escaped the Nightwalker, as his other arm came to surround Prompto’s back. The blonde continued to kiss back, but in the back of his mind, there was the cruel thought from the part of him that kept him from being truly confident that Noctis was only kissing him to show him affection like family would. And this made him start to shake, hoping that this wasn’t the case.

Catching the motion, Noctis broke away slowly, before regarding Prompto worriedly. “Prom…?”

Prompto bit his lip anxiously, before asking quietly, “This…isn’t just affection…like we’re family, right?”

“…is that what you think this is?”

“I…don’t know…” the Shifter mumbled, the tears forming again.

“Prompto…”

Prompto shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut tight, as he felt so stupid now. He didn’t know what to say, do, or anything. “I-I’m sorry…” he choked out.

“Sssh…” Noctis shushed, placing a single, short kiss on the blonde’s lips. “I admit…kissing is an act used to show varying degrees of affection…” The smaller male tensed at the words. “However,” the raven continued, running his thumb over Prompto’s lips, “ _these_ types… are traditionally reserved for a single person.”

When what the Nightwalker said finally clicked in Prompto’s head, he looked up at Noctis with wide, tear-filled eyes. A whimper escaped him, right before he quickly wrapped his arms around the raven, burying his face against Noctis’s chest and crying out of relief. What Noctis had told him meant he felt the same, and the blonde was just so relieved to have that answer. It completely cleared the anxiety in his mind and the pain in his heart.

“Sssh…” the older man murmured softly, wrapping his arms around the blonde. “It’s okay… everything’s okay, Prom… ssshh…”

Prompto struggled to reign in his emotions, but he focused on Noctis’s scent around him, his soothing voice, and his gentle hold on him. And within 10 minutes, he had calmed down, somehow managing to curl up in a ball in the raven’s lap, snuggling close like he used to when he was a kid.

“…better?”

“Mm-hmm…”

“Good…” Noctis murmured softly, rubbing a hand through the boy’s hair. The Shifter finally gave a small smile, lightly pressing into the touch.

After a few more minutes, Noctis murmured, “Hey…we need to get up. Kuja’s leaving in an hour…”

“Okay…” Prompto sighed, regretfully sliding out of Noctis’s lap. He already missed the raven’s warmth, but he knew they could cuddle more like that later. As Noctis stood up, he headed for the closet to change, as he had been initially planning to do. The smaller male got off his bed as well, averting his gaze with a small blush when the Nightwalker pulled off his shirt to change.

Once he’d changed, Noctis turned to Prompto, and he almost chuckled at the boy’s embarrassment, but he held back. “You gonna change, too, Prom?”

“Y-yeah,” Prompto stammered, before going to the closet and changing as well. As he slid off his jeans, he could practically feel Noctis watching him, making his cheeks burn. Once he had finished changing, he looked at the raven, still blushing. “Do…do we tell the others…?” he asked timidly.

Noctis hummed at the question, thinking, before he shook his head. “Not for now. They don’t need to know…yet.”

“Right,” the Shifter nodded, before following Noctis out. It took them only a moment to find the other Shifters, as they were out by the Chocobo pens. Mikoto was crouched by the nest, watching the chicks as they were being fed by their parents, while Zidane was lounging on the fence, and Kuja was settled on the nearby bench, reading a book.

“Hey guys,” Prompto greeted with a smile.

Zidane hummed as he looked over, before he grinned as he sat up. “Heyo!”

“How are they doing?” the taller blonde asked his friend, looking at the Chocochicks.

“Just getting their food right now,” Zidane chuckled, gesturing to the chicks. Prompto smiled a bit wider at the information, before looking at Kuja.

“You’re all ready to go, huh?” he guessed.

Kuja looked up quietly after he shut his book. “…Why? Worried, dear?” the silverette teased with a chuckle.

“Come on, you’re family to me, so of course I’ll worry,” the wolf Shifter pointed out.

Kuja merely giggled, even as Mikoto stood up and walked over. Zidane grinned, before he hopped off the fence. “So! Iggy’s gonna bring ‘im, right?”

“Haha. That’s the plan, yes,” Noctis chuckled.

“I can’t see Kuja flying with his stuff going well, anyway,” Prompto snickered.

“I wouldn’t even wish to…” Kuja huffed. “I don’t do the whole ‘sweating’ thing.”

“Of course not,” the teen smirked, before sobering. “Anyway…I guess we’d best get you moving, huh?”

“I suppose we should…”

The Nightwalker allowed a smirk, as he said while chuckling, “Yeah, I don’t think Ignis is prepared to wait forever… Let’s move.”

Prompto resisted the urge to tuck himself into the raven’s side as they headed to the garage, where Ignis was waiting for them, or rather, Kuja, with the silverette’s bags already in the trunk of the car.

When they arrived, Ignis nodded in greeting, before he turned to Kuja. “Ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, yes,” was the casual response. Prompto hesitated, but then went over to Kuja before he could get in, and pulled him into a quick hug.

“You were right,” he whispered quietly enough so no one else heard. “Thank you.”

“Hm?” Kuja hummed curiously, before he chuckled and lightly patted the boy’s head. “If you say so, dear,” he said simply. The wolf Shifter snorted, before stepping back.

“Take care of yourself, Kuja,” he smiled.

Kuja nodded, just before Zidane suddenly smacked him on the back (though he seemed to have seen it coming). “Dude! Don’t forget to let us know what it’s like over there!” he said with a grin. “We might not have the time to come visit, after all!”

“Oh I’m sure you’d _make_ time, dear,” Kuja chuckled softly.

“We’ll come visit sometime, don’t worry,” Prompto assured him.

Kuja nodded simply, even as Mikoto came over to hug him goodbye. After that, Kuja bowed politely to Noctis, before he whispered, “By the by, Prompto, dear?”

“Hm?”

“Do try to keep your nose clean around him, hm?”

“Wha…?” the blonde uttered, confused.

“Oh, nothing, dear,” Kuja chuckled, even as he moved to get into the Regalia. Prompto pouted at the lack of explanation, but he soon frowned, honestly not knowing what the silverette had meant. Ignis merely looked over to Prompto for a moment, before he climbed into the car. As the car started, the twins waved at Kuja, who waved back quietly, smiling, as the vehicle finally drove out of the garage. Once the Regalia was out of sight, Prompto felt himself becoming tired. Maybe now he could rest, because the stress and emotional strain from before had drained him.

Noctis noticed, of course, and he smiled, ruffling his hair. “Getting tired, huh?”

“Mm-hmm…” the smaller male hummed.

“What’d you do to get so tired, dude?” Zidane chuckled, grinning casually.

“Don’t ask…” Prompto sighed.

Noctis laughed softly. “Alright, alright… enough, boys… let’s just take a break for now, shall we?”

“Eh. Sure,” Zidane said with a shrug. The wolf Shifter nodded his agreement, and then followed Noctis back to their room. Even as they headed back, though, he couldn’t help but wonder what Kuja had meant before.

“Something wrong?” Noctis asked curiously.

“Well… I’ll be honest, Noct, I talked to Kuja earlier before I…confessed, and he helped me to figure out what I was feeling,” Prompto admitted softly. “I didn’t realize I was in love with you at first… All I knew was that my heart would beat faster while I was around you, and I started to feel awkward around you… Kuja helped me to realize what I was feeling. He also told me I should tell you how I feel and find out. Before he left, though, I thanked him when I hugged him and told him he was right. What’s got me confused is that he whispered to me to keep my nose clean around you, and I have no idea what he meant by that…”

“…” Noctis didn’t reply to that for the moment, before he chuckled. “No idea,” he said with a chuckle. The lack of an answer made the blonde pout, but he sighed in resignation.

“Guess I’ll never find out, then…” he muttered.

“C’mon…let’s go take a nap, shall we?” Noctis said with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Prompto smiled, tucking himself into the raven’s side as they walked. Noctis chuckled, wrapping his arm around the blonde’s shoulders as they walked into the room.

Once in their room, the smaller male broke away to go change into some lounge clothes to sleep in. After he was done, he crawled into Noctis’s bed, looking at the Nightwalker expectantly. This made the man chuckle as he removed his jacket, tossing it onto the nearest chair, before he moved over to lazily drop back on the bed. Prompto was quick to snuggle up to the taller male when he did, a pleased hum emitting from him.

Laughing softly, Noctis moved his arm around his shoulders, holding him close. At this, the Shifter relaxed fully, smiling contently as he closed his eyes.

“I love you, Noct…” he whispered.

The Nightwalker hummed softly, resting his head against Prompto’s. “Mmm…love you, too, Prom…” Prompto gave a pleased noise at the words, before he fell asleep against Noctis.


	7. Chapter 7

When Prompto woke later, he almost stiffened when he felt Noctis’s arms around him, but then the events from before caught up to him, and he relaxed. In fact, he cuddled closer, a content sigh escaping him. He’d love to just stay like this with Noctis forever, but it seemed life had other ideas, as there was a firm knock on the door.

“Noct, Prompto, it’s time for dinner,” Ignis’s familiar voice called out. The blonde whined, currying his face into Noctis’s pale neck. Unfortunately, his stomach seemed to think the opposite, as it growled at the mention of food, making him grumble.

Which also served to wake Noctis, as he groaned and blinked his eyes open. “…mmm…?”

“Ignis is getting us for dinner…and even though I’m hungry, I don’t wanna move…” Prompto mumbled against the Nightwalker’s neck.

This made the raven chuckle softly, patting the blonde’s head. “Fun as it sounds to laze away… I don’t think Ignis would appreciate the food going to waste.”

“Right…” the Shifter pouted, regretfully pulling away from Noctis, immediately missing his warmth. Groaning lazily, Noctis stretched out his arms, before he got out of bed and headed for the door after slipping into his shoes with minimal effort.

Prompto was quick to follow after his shoes were on, and he stuck close to the Nightwalker as they walked to the dining room. “…Hey, Noct?” he murmured before they got too close. “When _can_ the others know? I don’t want to hide our relationship forever…”

This made Noctis pause briefly as he frowned in thought. However, after a few moments, he said, “Not for a little while… I don’t want to hide it forever, either, but I want to bring it up slowly with them.”

“Okay…” the smaller male conceded with a small sigh. “You’d think they would be fine with it, considering how close we are…”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure Iggy and Gladio have been placing bets on when we’d actually get together…” Noctis chuckled out. “It’s much more interesting to watch them wonder than to just tell them.”

“Wait, they might be taking bets?!” Prompto yelped, before blushing. “Geez, am I really that oblivious?”

Noct merely laughed at the blonde’s words. “Well, I’ve known them both since childhood, so I have simply have that advantage over you.”

The comment made the blonde pause for a moment. “Just how old are you, anyway, Noct? I remember you told me when I was little that you couldn’t remember, but I’m sure you gotta know…” he questioned.

At those words, Noctis stopped in his tracks for a moment. “…what year do we live in again?”

“M.E. 1236… why?”

Once Prompto said that, Noctis hummed softly. Then, finally, he said, “…Oh shoot…I’m actually turning 500 this year…”

“Wait what?!” the Shifter yelped, before settling back down again. “I guess being a Nightwalker means immortality, huh?” he guessed. “Cuz that would explain why you haven’t aged at all since we met.”

“Sadly, yeah…” Noctis sighed, running a hand through his hair. “So…yeah… Is it any wonder I tend to forget with how the years stop having meaning for me?”

“It’s okay, Noct. Shifters stop aging at 21, anyway. I remember the alpha of my old pack was high in his years, but he still had a sharp memory and looked as young as most of the adults,” Prompto smiled. “That’s why my dad used to say there was no point in keeping track of your age if you were an old fart.” At that, he laughed.

“Very funny,” Noctis chuckled as they walked into the dining room. Once inside, the smaller male took his usual seat next to Noctis, and waited patiently for Ignis to bring out breakfast.

Which didn’t take long after Zidane and Mikoto came into the room from whatever they’d been doing in their free time now that they didn’t have lessons to get to. As soon as they were seated, Ignis and some of the servants brought out their meals, which consisted of a seafood omelet for each of them.

Noctis nodded his head in thanks, whereas Zidane grinned before digging in. Mikoto, meanwhile, bowed her head politely as she began to eat. Prompto gave a small smile to Ignis in thanks, and began to eat as well. He gave a pleased hum at the taste, having not had the dish in a few years.

Once the servants had gone, though, Ignis turned to Noctis. “By the way, Noct, do you want to do anything this year?”

Blinking, Noctis frowned. “…for what?”

Ignis didn’t seem surprised at the Nightwalker’s confusion and said simply, “August 30.”

“…Oh, right.”

“What’s up?” the wolf Shifter frowned.

“Nothing,” Noctis said simply.

“Nothing except for Noct’s birthday, that is,” Ignis corrected.

“Aww, come on, Noct! You should do _something_!” Prompto grinned.

Noctis sighed. “I’d rather not…”

“Dude! C’mon! You make a big deal of our birthdays, so why not?” Zidane interjected almost immediately.

“Please, Noct? It’ll be fun!” the taller of the blondes pleaded.

“No thanks,” was the instant response.

“Noct…please…?” Prompto begged, giving the raven his best puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh…fiiiiine…” Noctis finally groaned.

“Woohoo!! Nice one, buddy!!” Zidane cheered.

“The puppy dog eyes win again!” the wolf Shifter crowed with a laugh.

Noctis sighed heavily. “What did I get myself into?” he mumbled, while Ignis merely chuckled.

“Come on, Noct, relax. You’ll be fine,” Prompto assured him.

“Somehow I doubt that…”

“Party pooper,” the smaller male pouted.

 

X*X(3 Weeks Later, 2 Weeks Before Noctis’s Birthday)X*X

It was already two weeks until Noctis’s birthday, and Prompto had yet to get the Nightwalker a gift. Granted, Ignis had kindly provided him, Zidane, and Mikoto with some gil to buy him one each, but the blonde was drawing a blank. He wanted to give Noctis something special, but what?

“Yo Prompto!” a familiar voice suddenly quipped and when Prompto looked over to the fence of the Chocobo pen, he quickly spotted the other blonde leaning on it. “What’s up?”

“Not much, just trying to think of something to get for Noct’s birthday,” the taller blonde replied.

“Hmm… well… why don’t we head outside the Citadel, then?” Zidane offered. “Iggy said we’re free to leave come daytime to see if we can find something.”

“Good point. We’ll just have to make it quick, or else we’re both gonna be exhausted come nighttime again,” Prompto pointed out.

“True that,” Zidane chuckled. “Want me to get Miko? We could all pitch in and get something good for the guy that way.”

“Let’s do that,” the wolf Shifter smiled.

“Cool!”

Several hours and a few minutes to get used to the brightness of the day later, the three blondes were walking down the streets of Insomnia without a care in the world. No one so much as looked them funny, even though they’d come from the Citadel, which indicated that there was definitely something different about them. No one seemed to care or mind.

“So…where should we start?” Prompto wondered.

“Hmm… well, you know the dude longest; what does he like?” Zidane quipped calmly.

“Well, usually, before he goes to sleep, he’ll play this game on his phone called ‘King’s Knight’, and he’s played that for years,” the taller male answered. “Maybe we could find something related to the game?”

“Really? Hmm…” Zidane frowned briefly, while Mikoto hummed.

“If it’s a game…perhaps a game shop is our best bet."

“Makes sense…”

“Good thinking, Mikoto,” Prompto nodded, looking around. “No idea where to go, though…”

“Let’s have a look around, then,” Zidane said with a grin, before he abruptly walked ahead. The wolf Shifter blinked in surprise, before quickly following after his friend.

“Do you even know where to go?” he asked with a snort.

“Nope!”

“Ooooof course not.”

“Were you expecting anything else?” Mikoto asked.

“I shouldn’t be, and yet, I still do sometimes,” Prompto snickered.

“Hardy har,” Zidane chuckled out as he continued walking. As they walked, the taller male looked around, trying to spot a game store, when one finally caught his eye.

“Hey, there’s one!” he said eagerly, pointing.

“Hm? Oh hey you’re right!” Zidane said with a grin, while Mikoto hummed as they headed over. Prompto started looking around, but when he realized he had NO idea just what he was looking for, he decided to see about asking someone.

Going up to one of the employees, he asked, “Excuse me, but do you have anything for King’s Knight?”

“King’s Knight? Old fashioned, aren’t ya?” the employee asked with a chuckle. “Ain’t heard of someone looking for stuff on that in years!”

“That rare, or something?” Zidane asked as he came over.

“Not rare, no. But it’s definitely lost its shine from back in the day.”

“Well, we have a friend who plays the game on his phone a lot,” Prompto told him.

“Really? Huh… don’t hear that too often these days,” the employee admitted.

“Excuse me…” Mikoto suddenly said as she walked over.

“What’s up, Mikoto?” the taller blonde asked.

“How much for this?” Mikoto asked, as she held up a single game cartridge…which bore the logo of “King’s Knight”.

“…! Whoa! Miko, where’d you find that?!”

“Who cares? It’s perfect!” Prompto grinned.

“Huh… Forgot we had that one,” the employee mumbled as he took the cartridge and scanned it. “650 Gil.”

“I think we can afford that, right?” the wolf Shifter asked the twins.

“Barely… I think…” Zidane mumbled as he pulled out his satchel. Mikoto did the same as her brother began to count his coins.

“If we all pitch in together, I’m sure we’ll have enough,” Prompto said as he checked his own satchel. After some quick counting, the three Shifters moved to discuss quietly how much they had to go, which, if they all pitched in, would leave them with 75 Gil each after purchase.

“Alright, shall we?” Zidane asked with a grin.

“Let’s,” the taller blonde nodded eagerly.

Nodding, Mikoto took the required amount from the boys, and then stepped up to the employee, passing him the coins quietly. After counting the coins, the employee finally nodded. “Want me to wrap it up for your friend?”

“Yes, please,” Mikoto said with a nod. As the employee wrapped the game up, Prompto grinned at the twins.

“He’s gonna love this,” he told them eagerly.

“Heheh. I’ll bet,” Zidane agreed as Mikoto accepted the small bag.

“You guys better keep it in one of your rooms or with Ignis, that way he doesn’t find it,” the wolf Shifter pointed out.

“Sounds good,” the other boy said with a chuckle as they headed out. “Wanna get something else while we’re here, or should we head back?”

“Nah, it’s almost noon, so we should head back,” Prompto answered.

“That would be wise, yes,” Mikoto agreed. With that choice made for them, the three of them started back to the Citadel. As they moved down the path, Zidane suddenly hummed as he looked off to the side, blinking as he looked toward a large park across the street.

“What’s up?” the taller blonde asked.

“…” Zidane didn’t answer immediately, keeping his eyes on the park for a long moment as he thought. And then he smirked.

Mikoto caught the look and sighed. “What are you scheming now?”

“Scheming nothing! It’s a brilliant idea!” her brother laughed, before he grabbed Prompto’s wrist and dragged him along toward the park.

“What the hell are you doing?” Prompto yelped as he was dragged. But Zidane didn’t answer as he continued moving along, easily dragging Prompto along, with Mikoto trailing after quietly. The shorter blonde was actually surprisingly strong for someone of his stature. As they moved through the park, Zidane finally ran up a hill in the middle of the park.

“Zidane, honestly, what are you plotting now?” his friend questioned.

“I am not plotting anything,” Zidane chuckled. “You brought your camera, right?”

“Yeah, I always have it,” Prompto nodded, pulling it out of his bag.

“Cool,” was the quick response before Zidane snatched it up. “Move over there.”

“Whatever you say,” the wolf Shifter shrugged, and did as he was told. Once the blonde was in position, Zidane brought the camera up to his face, adjusting the settings for a few moments. Mikoto remained behind her brother silently, not seeming to mind either way.

Finally, Zidane smirked. “Dude, you could at least smile, yanno?”

Prompto rolled his eyes, but smiled regardless, before looking out over the hill when something caught his eye: wild Chocobos. His face lit up with an excited grin, and he pointed at them eagerly.

This made Zidane grin as he pressed down on the button, the rapid clicking of the shutter indicating it was taking a series of shots. “Perfect!” he crowed once he lowered the camera. The shout made the wolf Shifter look back at Zidane curiously, before he rolled his eyes.

“So, why take pictures of me?” he asked.

After passing the camera back, Zidane snorted. “Think about it; when was the last time the big guy had a nice good luck at the sun, eh?”

This made Prompto frown a little in thought, before he nodded his understanding, and then smiled at Zidane. “Thanks, man. He’ll love that,” he told him kindly.

“Plus,” Zidane added with a small conniving grin, “betcha he’d appreciate you being in the shot just as much, eh?”

The taller blonde blushed when his friend made the comment, and he sighed before looking at him. “I would’ve expected Mikoto to know, since she’s just sharp like that, but you? Not so much,” he snickered.

Oddly enough, it was **Mikoto** who chuckled in response. “Well, then that just shows how obvious you’ve been, hm?”

“Eh, whatever. As long as you guys approve, right?” Prompto asked.

“No duh,” Zidane chuckled softly, while Mikoto nodded. “So anyway, how ‘bout we head back for a bit? Think I saw a photo shop that had a bunch of good picture frames.”

“Sounds good,” the wolf Shifter nodded, and as they started to head back into town, he murmured, “Thanks,” to his friend.

“No sweat, buddy,” Zidane chuckled, slapping the taller blonde on the back.

When they eventually arrived back home, Prompto was quick to return to his and Noctis’s room, changing into his pajamas and crawling into bed with Noctis. He curled up against the Nightwalker’s side, snuggling close so he could sleep.

This, in turn, made Noctis groan briefly as he cracked open one eye. When he spotted Prompto, though, he hummed as he shifted briefly so he could place an arm around the blonde before shutting his eye again. The smaller male smiled contently as he was held close, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

 

X*X(2 Weeks Later, Noctis’s Birthday)X*X

Finally, it was the ‘morning’ of Noctis’s birthday, and Prompto was super excited to give the raven the game he, Zidane, and Mikoto had bought as well as the framed picture of himself the Zidane had taken. He also had something else planned for Noctis, but it wouldn’t be until later that ‘night’. Not wanting to bark, howl, or pounce him awake since it was his birthday, the blonde curled close, kissing the Nightwalker’s neck softly to try and wake him.

“…mmm…hmmm?” Noctis hummed softly, blinking his eyes open.

“Good morning, and Happy Birthday, Noct,” Prompto smiled, kissing the raven’s lips briefly.

“…already…? Mmm…” the Nightwalker groaned, reaching up to rub at his eyes.

“Well, a little early, since your birthday hits at midnight, but still,” the Shifter shrugged. The raven hummed softly, as he slowly pushed himself up on the bed, yawning widely. Prompto sat up as well, stretching out his arms, before giving Noctis an unexpected, quick kiss.

“Now come on, let’s get dressed and then see what Ignis has in store for you,” he laughed as he slid out of bed.

“Hmm…if I must…” he mumbled softly. The blonde smiled warmly at the taller male.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” he assured him.

“Somehow I doubt it…” Noctis sighed heavily. Prompto rolled his eyes, before going back over to the Nightwalker and kissing him chastely again.

“Would it help if we surprised Ignis and Gladio by showing them we’re together?” he asked with an amused smile.

Noctis actually hummed in thought. “Hmm…maybe…”

“Then let’s do that. That should make your morning,” the Shifter chuckled. “Zidane and Mikoto already figured it out, so they won’t be surprised.”

That made Noctis look at him curiously, before he chuckled.  “Do they now?”

“Yeah. We were hanging out with the Chocobos once when Zidane decided to tease me a little on it, but they approve,” Prompto told him, fibbing a little so as not to give away about the picture.

“Hahah. Yeah, that sounds like him, alright.”

“So, do you wanna get dressed so we can surprise Ignis and Gladio? Otherwise they’ll just be left guessing,” the smaller male pointed out, heading over to the closet to get dressed himself.

“Fine, fine,” Noctis chuckled as he followed to the closet to get dressed. Prompto gave a pleased hum as the raven followed him, and once he was dressed, he waited patiently for Noctis to finish before the pair headed to the dining room. As they walked, Noctis groaned as he cracked his neck, seemingly still half asleep as he walked.

“Will you ever be fully awake?” Prompto teased.

“Hmm… prolly not…” Noctis said with a shrug. The blonde laughed, before sneaking in a quick kiss to the Nightwalker’s cheek right before they turned and walked into the dining room. Noctis merely snorted, before they walked in. And sure enough, everyone was already there; even Gladio, who usually skipped out on breakfast with the group.

“Good morning, guys,” Prompto greeted as he took his seat.

“Morning,” Ignis said calmly.

“Hey,” was Noctis’s only response, which made Zidane laugh.

“Dude, you sleep ALL day! How much more sleep do you need?”

“A lot…”

“At least, you _act_ like it sometimes,” Prompto laughed. “Sometimes you’re just fine.”

“Especially once you get to training,” Gladio added.

“Yeah, yeah…” Noctis sighed out.

“I’d work your ass today, but since it’s your birthday, I’ll leave you alone for today,” the brunette smirked, making the wolf Shifter giggle.

“Gee, thanks a lot… Best present I’ve had yet,” the Nightwalker grumbled.

“Come on, you’ll get better ones, I promise,” Prompto smiled, deciding to ‘tell’ Ignis ad Gladio while they were both drinking their coffee…by leaning over and giving Noctis a kiss on the lips while both men were looking.

Gladio’s reaction was immediate: he almost choked on his coffee, spluttering as he tried to clear his lungs. Ignis took it a little better, though he, too, seemed surprised at the sight. However, Zidane merely guffawed.

“Well! That's one way to get the point across!”

“That was the point,” the taller blonde laughed.

“Geez… Way to nearly kill me,” Gladio grumbled into his cup once he regained his composure.

Ignis cleared his throat briefly, before he said, “Yes, well… how long has this been going on, then?”

“Hmm…a while,” Noctis said with a cheeky chuckle.

“Why worry about it?” Prompto added with a shrug, smiling at the raven.

“Because Iggy and I—” Gladio started to say, but he quickly got swatted on the head by Ignis.

“That’s quite enough, I believe,” the sandy blonde said simply, much to the bemusement of the others.

“Noct was right! You guys placed bets on when we would get together!” the wolf Shifter yelled in accusation. Ignis didn’t even bother to deny the claim, while Noctis laughed at the sight of Gladio rubbing his head from where he’d been whacked.

Hearing the laugh, Prompto laughed with him. “I told you it would be worth surprising them, Noct!” he snickered. Once Noctis managed to tone down his laughter somewhat, Ignis excused himself to collect breakfast for everyone.

“So, who won, then?” the blonde asked Gladio.

“…Iggy did…” the larger man grumbled, making Prompto laugh. Mikoto hummed softly, while Zidane laughed as well.

“Heh…not surprising…” Noctis admitted. It wasn’t long until Ignis brought their breakfast out, which consisted of another of Noctis’s favorites, unsurprisingly. The Nightwalker didn’t seem to be surprised when they were presented with Mother & Child Rice Bowl, with a side of Grilled Wild Barramundi, and he nodded in thanks as Ignis moved to take his own seat. Zidane hummed pleasantly as he took his first bite.

“Dude, this is really good!”

“Definitely!” Prompto nodded after swallowing a few bites.

“Come now, it’s nothing special,” Ignis chuckled out, even as everyone enjoyed the meal he’d made.

“Aww, Ignis, I’d never eat anyone else’s cooking. Yours is the best!” the wolf Shifter grinned. Ignis merely chuckled, while Noctis smiled absently as he continued to eat. Eventually, when they finished their breakfasts, Prompto looked at the sandy blonde. “Ignis, did you have anything planned for Noctis for today for his birthday?”

“No solid plans, shockingly,” Ignis admitted.

“That’s a first…” Zidane murmured. “So what do we do?”

“…Well,” Noctis said suddenly, “why don’t we head out to Mirror Lake?”

“And do what?” the taller of the blondes asked as Gladio and Ignis chuckled.

“To be fair, Gladio, it _has_ been a while.”

“Since what?” Prompto frowned, confused.

“You’ll see when we get there,” the sandy blonde said with a mysterious smile.

“…Why does that worry me?” Zidane murmured, though Mikoto didn’t seem worried.

“Maybe because it’s something we don’t know?” Prompto shrugged. “Well, only one way to find out for sure, and that’s to go to Mirror Lake.”

“I’ll get the stuff loaded into the Regalia’s trunk for ya,” Gladio chuckled.

“Nice,” Noctis said with a smile.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

So, less than an hour later, surprisingly, the Shifters found themselves riding with Noctis in the Regalia to Mirror Lake, all three of them still wondering what Noctis had planned. Prompto sat up front with the Nightwalker as he drove, and mercifully, they had some really bright headlights that had been installed in the Regalia long ago, ones that kept the daemons away. Prompto had read about them in his lessons and in the library a few times, and he guessed that daemons hadn’t attacked him and Noctis while they’ve been out due to how dangerous the raven was. And it didn’t take long for the group to reach Mirror Lake.

The moment they stepped out and turned to the lake, all three Shifters stared in awe. The lake was not only enormous, its surface was perfectly still, creating the illusion that they were looking down at a giant mirror. There was the occasional small ripple here and there, but not enough to mess up the mirror-like surface.

In one word; it was _gorgeous_.

“Holy crap…” Zidane breathed out finally.

“It’s beautiful…” Prompto gasped softly.

“Glad to know you like it,” Noctis said as he walked along the lake’s edge. Prompto was quick to follow, smiling slightly as he saw the moon’s light reflected on the water’s surface.

“So, what are we doing, Noct?” he asked. The Nightwalker merely chuckled, not saying anything just yet. Zidane hummed, before he noticed something.

“By the by, what’s with the box and bucket?”

“Oh, you’ll see…”

“Noct…!” the wolf Shifter pouted. All the blonde got was a small, cheeky smile as Noctis continued walking. Prompto huffed a little, but continued following after the raven. They soon reached a small, wooden…platform, it seemed, but it was jutting out over the water’s surface a bit.

Zidane looked around curiously, frowning, before a thought seemed to come to him. However, it was Mikoto who spoke up. “Are we going fishing?”

And Noctis laughed in response. “Yep.”

“I didn’t know you liked fishing…” Prompto murmured, frowning a little. Something else he now knew about Noctis, but he hadn’t in all the time he’d known him. “How come you never went fishing after you found me?”

Noctis sighed as he set down the box and bucket. “Didn’t have time… work, and all that…”

“Dude…that _sucks!_ ” Zidane said immediately.

“Agreed,” his sister said with a nod.

“Well, at least you get to today,” the taller of the blondes smiled.

“For once…” the Nightwalker agreed, before he snapped out his hand to the side and materialized a fishing rod in his hands. Prompto yipped a little in surprise, as he’d never see Noctis do anything like that.

“How’d you do that?” he questioned.

“Eh. I just do,” Noctis said simply as he stretched briefly. “Haven’t done it in a while, though… Didn’t need to.”

Prompto shrugged, before sitting down on the dock to watch Noctis fish. Zidane hummed as he dropped down by the edge, resting his head on his arms as he regarded the water before them. Mikoto settled down as well, a curious glint in her eyes as Noctis arched back his arm, before he swung it out. The line whistled as the lure flew gracefully through the air before landing on the surface with a small plop.

The wolf Shifter watched the lure intently, remaining quiet. From what he knew of fishing, you had to be quiet and patient, and watch the lure for when the fish would actually bite. This meant it was a waiting game, and he had never liked playing the waiting game. He was never any good at it, either. Noctis, however, had no such problems, as he remained standing silently, while only occasionally turning the wheel of his rod.

“…are there even fish in here?” Zidane asked after a moment. “It’s so clear… You’d expect there to be SOME ripples if there were fish…”

“Good point,” Prompto agreed softly.

Noctis merely hummed softly, not responding to the question. Just as he flicked the wheel, though, the lure suddenly disappeared below the surface and the rod curled. Startled, Noctis almost didn’t move fast enough, but then he steadied himself and pulled on the rod.

“…Well, I believe that answers your question…” Mikoto said simply.

“I hope it’s something big!” Prompto grinned. Noctis didn’t respond, as he was too focused on dealing with the fish on the other end of the line. It definitely took a good deal of effort to pull the fish in, as he continued to reel steadily. The wolf Shifter watched closely, definitely eager to see what the raven was about to catch.

It took almost five minutes, before, finally Noctis got the fish—which was pretty big—onto land.

“Whoa! Look at the size of this thing!” Zidane laughed.

“Yeah, it’s big enough for at least two people to eat, unless you’re really hungry,” Prompto laughed as well.

“Hm? Ah, this really isn’t THAT…special…” Noctis admitted with a small shrug as her dropped the fish in the bucket. “I’ve caught bigger ones with Father before…”

“Your dad? You’ve never mentioned him to me before,” the taller of the blondes said, his expression curious. “What was he like?”

“Father was…” Noctis paused for a few moments to think, before he sighed. “Well… different, I guess you could say…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…not many Nightwalkers would bother to take in one that wasn’t like them…” Noctis admitted as he cast out another line. “So…yeah, different.”

“So…you were adopted?” Prompto guessed.

“Yeah…”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” the wolf Shifter assured him. “After all, you kinda adopted me, in a sense.”

“And us!” Zidane said with a grin, whilst Mikoto nodded.

“Heh… I suppose I did, didn’t I?” Noctis chuckled out, flicking the reel a little bit.

“Yeah. You gave us a safe home where we could live without being fearful of every little thing or being in danger every day,” Prompto smiled.

Noctis merely smiled. “Heh… Yeah…” he said—right before there was another tug on his fishing rod. “Ah!”

“Is this an even bigger fish?!” Prompto yelped.

“Definitely _feels_ like it!!” Noctis grunted, pulling the rod up. “Damn!”

“You can do it, Noct!” the wolf Shifter urged, watching intently.

The Nightwalker grunted heavily, pulling the rod sideways to follow the fish’s motions. And then, suddenly, the fish leaped up from the water, and the three Shifters stared in alarm at the sheer SIZE of the beast that Noctis had hooked.

“Holy crap!!” Zidane choked.

“What the hell kinda monster fish _is_ that?!” Prompto yelped.

“Don’t question it for now!” Noctis snarled softly as he twisted the rod sideways. “Shit…! This bastard’s got some definite fight to him!” The Shifters watched helplessly as Noctis slowly but surely reeled the beastly fish in, the minutes ticking on as he did.

And then, FINALLY, with a heave of effort, Noctis dragged the fish onto land.

“Duuuuuude! Look at this thing!” Zidane laughed as they crowded around the massive fish.

“It’s huge!” Prompto gawked, before he laughed. “I hope we can get this thing back home!”

“Hahah… yeah…that might be tricky,” Noctis admitted with his hands on his hips.

“Still, that was awesome, Noct!” the taller blonde grinned. Chuckling, Noctis took out his phone and snapped a quick shot of the fish, before tapping something on it. “Whatcha doing?”

“Sending it to Iggy. See if maybe he’d like us to bring this bad boy in,” Noctis chuckled out.

“He probably will, even if it’s not edible,” Prompto pointed out. “It’d make a good trophy.” At that, he laughed.

Shortly after, Noctis’s phone beeped, signaling he had a message. “Heh… looks like he’s all up for it. C’mon; let’s see if we can drag this thing back to the Regalia.”

“Sounds good!” the wolf Shifter nodded, and the group of four managed to load the giant fish into a big trunk in the Regalia’s trunk, preventing the car of reeking of fish later. Looking at the sky, Prompto realized it was getting close to ‘afternoon’ already for them. “Geez, time flies…”

“Yeah… that’s how it goes,” Noctis said with a chuckle. “Should probably hurry before the sun comes up.”

“Sounds good,” Zidane agreed. Prompto nodded, and then they climbed into the Regalia, and headed home. Upon their arrival, they discovered Ignis and Gladio waiting for them, considering the size of the fish, and the brunette let out a low, impressed whistle when he opened the carrying trunk with the monster fish inside.

“Damn, you did good, Noct,” he praised.

“Heh. Put up one hell of a fight,” Noctis chuckled as he and the Shifters pulled the fish over.

“No kidding! This bugger was a PAIN and we weren’t even up against it!” Zidane said with a nod. Prompto laughed, but he definitely agreed with his friend’s remark.

“So, you gonna somehow cook this thing, Ignis?” he asked.

Ignis hummed as he regarded the fish, seemingly thinking, before he suddenly snapped his fingers. “That should not pose a problem,” he said then.

“Nice. Can’t wait to try it,” Noctis chuckled.

“Dinner’s gonna be awesome tonight!” Prompto agreed, before looking at the raven. “Did you want to open your gifts yet?”

For a moment, Noctis hummed, before he nodded. “May as well do it now, I suppose…”

“Sweet! This is gonna be good!” Zidane crowed.

“Definitely!” Prompto nodded, before looking to Zidane and Mikoto. “You guys hid them in your room, right?”

“I’ll get them,” Mikoto said with a nod, before she walked off to their room. In the meantime, Prompto smiled excitedly at Noctis as he led the Nightwalker to the den so he could open them there, Zidane following while Ignis and Gladio took the monster fish to the kitchen to get it ready for dinner.

It didn’t take long for Mikoto to return with the presents. “…Which one first?” she asked of Prompto.

“Let’s do the bought one first,” he replied, seating himself on the arm of the chair Noctis was seated in.

“Cool!” Zidane took the gift from his sister, and passed it to Noctis with a grin.

The Nightwalker hummed curiously as he twisted the box around a few times, before he finally started to open it. Prompto watched eagerly, but deep down, he was a little worried Noctis wouldn’t like it.

As the Nightwalker opened it, he blinked, before he whistled and pulled out the cartridge. “Is this the original King’s Knight?”

“Sure is,” the blonde by his side smiled. “We were lucky to find it.”

“Wow…”

Zidane chuckled with a grin. “Ya can think Miko for it. She’s the one who found it.”

Chuckling as well, Noctis turned to Mikoto with a warm nod. “Thanks, Mikoto.”

“You’re welcome,” the girl said with a warm smile.

“Now for the other one,” Prompto chimed in. Zidane passed the smaller gift to Noctis, who, again, hummed curiously, turning it twice, before beginning to unwrap it. This time, Prompto bit his lip a little nervously, hoping Noctis would really like this one, too. After all, he’d never seen the blonde in the sunlight.

When the wrapping fell away, Noctis frowned a little in confusion, since he was holding it backwards. However, once he realized that, he turned it around. And the moment he realized what he was looking at, his eyes widened in genuine surprise. When he saw the Nightwalker’s expression, Prompto became a bit more nervous, shifting a little in place on the arm of Noctis’s chair.

However, only a few moments later, his expression turned to something akin to wonder and the man smiled warmly. This caused the wolf Shifter to relax, and he leaned slightly against the taller male.

“Zidane got a good picture in, huh?” he murmured.

Noctis chuckled softly as he reached out and wrapped one arm around the blonde’s waist. “Yes. Yes, he did.”

Prompto leaned into the hold, smiling contently. “Zidane thought you’d like to see me in the sunlight since you haven’t before,” he explained.

“Huh…guess he can have good ideas occasionally…”

“Hey! I get good ideas often enough!” Zidane protested, much to everyone’s amusement. Prompto laughed at the outburst.

“This had to be your best idea yet, Zidane, so don’t worry,” he assured his friend. Zidane huffed, hands on his hips, while his sister smiled softly. Noctis allowed a small chuckle, shaking his head softly. “So, you gonna put that up in our room somewhere?” Prompto asked the raven.

“Hmm… I’ll have to see where to put it,” Noctis said with a small nod.

“I’m sure you’ll figure out a good place for it,” the wolf Shifter smiled, before his expression became curious. “I wonder if Ignis managed to finish cooking that monster fish yet?”

“I’m sure he has… Shall we go see?”

“Yeah.”

With that said, the group headed to the dining room, where Gladio was already seated, waiting patiently for everyone to show up.

“So, get some good stuff from them, Noct?” he asked, amused.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Noctis chuckled with a smirk as he took his seat. The brunette snorted, but knew that the Nightwalker was happy with whatever the Shifters had gotten him.

“Well, you have good timing. Iggy was just about finished cooking that beast of a fish you caught. He should be bringing dinner out any time,” he said.

“I’m still surprised he took the challenge,” Prompto snickered.

“Then you clearly don’t know Ignis well enough yet,” Noctis chuckled out.

“So it would seem,” Ignis said calmly as he and several servants walked in with their dinner.

“I shouldn’t be, though,” Prompto laughed. “After all, you’ve never disappointed with anything you cook.”

“When will he ever?” Gladio snorted. Ignis merely smirked as everyone was given their dinner. Once he had also taken his seat, he nodded once, which was enough for everyone to start eating. The wolf Shifter was quick to take a bite of the cooked fish, and he gave a happy noise at the taste.

“Awesome job, Ignis!” he grinned after swallowing.

“Definitely!” Zidane agreed, as he practically shoveled the food in his mouth, earning him a brief smack from Mikoto. Noctis laughed softly at that, though he kept his focus on his own meal for now. Prompto snorted on a laugh at the smack, unable to resist. After all, Zidane should know better by now.

Suddenly, just as Prompto was taking a bite, something touched his ankle. The blonde blinked, a bit confused, before looking down under the table curiously. However, he couldn’t see anything out of place when he did.

“Something wrong, Prompto?” Ignis said once he had straightened up again.

“No, it’s nothing,” Prompto replied, returning to his dinner, still a little puzzled. Until he glanced at Noctis, and spotted the sneaky smirk on his face, of course. When Noctis noticed him looking, he dropped the expression and looked over.

“What?” he asked, just as there was another touch to Prompto’s leg, just above his ankle this time.

The smaller male blushed faintly at the touch above his ankle, having an idea where the raven was going with his teasing. Well, that just meant his private gift for Noctis would go much more smoothly, then. Shaking his head a little, he focused on his dinner, trying to calm his nerves somewhat. Yeah, he had that special something planned for Noctis once they were back in their room, but that didn’t mean he was a bit nervous for it.

Noctis allowed a small smirk, biting down on another forkful of fish, humming softly at the taste. And again, there was a soft touch to Prompto’s leg. Prompto did his best to ignore the touching, focusing on his dinner and hoping to finish his meal quickly. Otherwise this wouldn’t end well for him.

Once everyone had finished, Ignis stood up and collected everyone’s plates. However, before they could all go to their rooms, Ignis said, “I do hope you all saved room for dessert.”

“Wait…there’s dessert?!”

Prompto blinked, before he remembered that normally they’d do cake on any birthdays, but he didn’t think about that with Noctis.

It didn’t take long for Ignis to come back from the kitchen, carrying a tray of what appeared to be extremely small cakes. They had to be at least a fourth of the size to fit in the palm of an average person’s hand.

“Huh? Why so tiny??” Zidane mumbled. As Prompto’s nose caught their scent, though, it suddenly clicked that these were a pastry Kuja had mentioned to him, saying he’d love to try them one day, since the particular berry that’s in it has a lovely, unique fragrance.

“Hang on… Are these with Ulwaat berries?” he asked.

“They are,” Ignis said with a chuckle.

“I knew it! Kuja told me about them once,” he grinned. “He’s missing out, then.”

Noctis laughed softly as he picked up one of the cakes. “Unfortunately,” he said, before he took a calm bite. The wolf Shifter copied him, taking a bite, and he gave a pleased hum at the flavor.

“This is really good!” he exclaimed.

Zidane almost moaned as the taste hit him, rapidly tapping his feet against the legs of his seat. “Duuuude! So good!” he got out, while Mikoto nodded her head. Prompto nodded his fervent agreement, definitely loving the taste.

“You’ve outdone yourself again, Iggy,” Gladio chuckled after finishing his cake.

“Come now, it’s nothing special,” the bespectacled man chuckled out.

Noctis merely smiled as he quietly ate his own cake. Prompto smiled as well, making sure to finish his portion, leaning back in his seat when he was done.

“That was too good,” he murmured.

Zidane sighed happily, patting his stomach. “Phew…those little things sure fill you up quickly!”

“Definitely,” the wolf Shifter nodded, before looking at Noctis. “Getting a bit tired, to be honest…”

Chuckling, Noctis nodded. “Well…perhaps it’s about time to call it a day, then.”

“Yeah… Sounds like a plan,” Zidane agreed.

“Thanks again for the food, Ignis,” Prompto smiled at the sandy blonde as he got up. His earlier words about being tired were a lie, but like hell would he admit that yet. After all, he still wanted to give Noctis his personal gift. After wishing each other goodnight, Noctis and Prompto went to their room. Noctis grunted as soon as the door shut and stretched briefly.

“All tired out from today, huh?” the blonde teased.

“Yeah…that took much longer than I was expecting…”

“Well, I hope you’re not too tired for your last gift,” Prompto murmured, stepping closer to the Nightwalker.

“Hm?”

Instead of answering verbally, the smaller male kissed Noctis lovingly, wrapping his arms around the raven’s neck to keep himself close as he kissed him. Noctis blinked, twice, before he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around the blonde, pulling him close. Prompto gave a pleased noise at the response, before pulling away after a minute.

“I want to give you…me,” he whispered, blushing a little out of shyness.

This made Noctis quick an eyebrow at Prompto, before he chuckled softly. “You do know that sounds really cheesy, right?”

The Shifter’s blush darkened, and he huffed a little. “I was trying to make this kinda special, y’know…” he pouted. Noctis smirked softly, before he placed a gentle kiss on Prompto’s lips. When they parted, Prompto looked up at the taller male, a hint of nervousness in his gaze. “You…you want this, right?”

“Prom…” Noctis murmured softly. “You worry too much…” he murmured, rubbing his back softly.

“Sometimes I can’t tell what you’re thinking, so you can’t blame me,” the blonde pouted, but gave a soft smile as he moved in for another kiss. Noctis merely smiled into the kiss, pulling Prompto closer and putting one hand into his hair, adjusting his head a little to kiss him deeper. Prompto gave a small moan in response, already starting to enjoy this as he parted his lips for Noctis.

Purring heavily, Noctis moved his hand down along Prompto’s back as he slipped his tongue past the blonde’s lips, curling it around the blonde’s as they continued to kiss. The Shifter shivered lightly as the raven’s hand moved down his back, making him moan a bit louder into Noctis’s mouth. Chuckling, Noctis reached over and tugged Prompto up from the ground.

And on instinct, Prompto wrapped his legs around the Nightwalker’s hips, unintentionally grinding against him in the process and making him gasp softly at the pleasurable jolt in his crotch as a result. Chuckling, Noctis moved over to his bed easily, where he lowered the boy down, while moving over him and pinning him to the bed. Not that Prompto minded, as he lightly tightened his grip around Noctis’s neck as he was pinned, keeping him close. In fact, he enjoyed the feeling of being pinned beneath the raven.

Noctis slowly pulled back, regarding Prompto for a few moments, before he frowned. “Are you sure…?”

“…I’ve been thinking about this for the past two weeks, so yes,” the smaller male murmured, giving Noctis a soft smile. “Not only that, but I wanted it to be special. And what other special moment other than waiting for _my_ birthday than to do this on yours?”

Chuckling softly, Noctis kissed him again. “Good…” he murmured, before he moved the kisses down his neck. Prompto tilted his head to the side to give his soon-to-be lover more room to work, a soft moan escaping him. Purring heavily, Noctis spent only a few moments there, before he moved lower and licked at the bare skin there.

The blonde shivered slightly at the licking, feeling the pleasure from the teasing make his blood start to flow to his crotch.

“Feels good, hm?” the Nightwalker murmured.

“Y-yeah,” Prompto stuttered out, his face a pretty shade of pink, making his freckles stand out a bit. Smirking, Noctis moved back just a little and began to tug off the blonde’s shirt. The Shifter leaned forward, helping in the shirt’s removal, and he gave a light shiver at the cool air of the room hit his exposed skin.

This made the man above him chuckle, as his fingers slipped up and began to toy with the blonde’s nipples. Prompto gasped at the touch, not realizing they were so sensitive. Which, of course, made the raven chuckle again, as he flicked his thumb at the hardening nub. The smaller male whined a bit as he was teased, feeling his cock begin to harden as his pants tightened.

As if sensing the blonde’s ‘problem’, Noctis smirked, before one hand slipped down and pressed down against his crotch. The effect was immediate, as Prompto’s hips bucked into the touch as he gasped sharply, followed by a moan.

“Hm?” Noctis hummed, almost curiously. “Something wrong, Prom?”

“…Feels good…” the Shifter mumbled shyly.

“Heh…” Chuckling, Noctis kissed him, before his hand curled around the blonde’s clothed cock, rubbing his thumb along it. Prompto moaned louder this time, but the sound was muffled by the raven’s mouth over his. He obviously had no experience with this stuff, nor had he ever had any reason to touch himself before, but he idly wondered why he hadn’t sooner. The thought was soon swept away when the Nightwalker teased him through his pants.

Allowing a small chuckle as he pulled back, moving around to lick at Prompto’s ear, even as he worked on undoing the boy’s pants. The smaller male raised his hips to help with getting his pants and underwear off once his pants were undone, and his blush spread to his shoulders as Noctis gazed at his fully exposed body. After tossing the garments aside, Noctis didn’t move for a moment, and just regarded Prompto with a hungry look.

The expression the raven wore caused Prompto’s blush to darken further, making his freckles blend in, and he had to resist the urge to cover himself out of shyness. Upon noticing the look, Noctis chuckled, moving in and pressing a deep kiss to his lips. The Shifter kissed back eagerly, but as they kissed, he wanted to have his soon-to-be lover naked with him, too. After all, he couldn’t be the only one naked. However, before he could do anything about it, Noctis reached down and ran a finger along his cock.

“Ah-ha…!” Prompto panted out in a moan, shuddering. Chuckling softly, Noctis repeated the motion twice more, before adding his other fingers as well. The blonde whined pitifully as his hips automatically bucked into the touch.

“Feels good?” Noctis purred.

“Y…yeah,” Prompto whimpered out through the pleasure. This made the Nightwalker smirk softly, as he adjusted his hand briefly. And then he began to move it. The motion drew a startled gasp from the smaller male, before he moaned loudly, throwing his head back against the bed with a cry.

Laughing breathlessly, Noctis moved in again and placed soft, hot kisses along Prompto’s throat, still moving his hand slowly. Prompto whined at the kisses to his throat and the touches to his cock, moaning loudly. And Noctis—the devil—merely chuckled as he lightly kissed, licked, and nibbled on the blonde’s pale skin. The blonde shuddered heavily, feeling an intense heat coiling in his belly, and he gave a pleading noise.

“Yeeees?”

“Getting…hot…” Prompto whimpered.

“Are you, now?” Noctis murmured. The Shifter nodded a little, whining as Noctis continued to move his hand. “Do you want more?”

“Yes, please…!” the blonde begged, his hips thrusting into the raven’s hand a bit.

“How badly?”

“Very badly, Noct…!” Prompto pleaded desperately. Chuckling, Noctis suddenly sat back and pulled away entirely. The smaller male watched, breathless, giving a soft whimper at the loss of contact.

“Don’t worry…” Noctis assured with a cheeky smirk. “I’ll make you feel good…”

And then he ducked his head down. Immediately, Prompto gave a choked cry as his cock was surrounded by that wet heat, and he shuddered in delight at the intense pleasure. Noctis hummed from the back of his throat, hands on the blonde’s hips and keeping them pinned down, as he began to bob his head slowly and in a steady rhythm.

The Shifter moaned loudly, unable to keep quiet or even consider doing so as he was pleasured. His hands buried themselves into the Nightwalker’s ebony locks as that coil of heat in his stomach became tighter. A deep chuckle emanated from the raven’s throat, as he pulled back and sucked harshly. Prompto gasped sharply, his grip on Noctis’s hair tightening briefly before he gave a piercing cry as he came, his cum washing down the raven’s throat.

Purring briefly, Noctis swallowed, twice, before he sat up again. The blonde watched him, his chest heaving with the effort as he tried to catch his breath. His face was heavily flushed, and he looked like a perfect example of post-coital bliss.

“Well…that was interesting,” Noctis chuckled.

“Huh…?”

Smiling, Noctis merely moved in and pressed a warm kiss to the blonde’s lips. Although pleasantly surprised, Prompto kissed back, albeit still breathless, before he shivered lightly when he realized he was completely naked while Noctis was still fully dressed.

When he broke away, Noctis tilted his head. “Something wrong?”

“Y…you’re still dressed…” the smaller male mumbled, blushing as he instinctively moved his hands to cover himself.

However, Noctis reached out and removed his hands again. “Does that bother you?”

“O-only because I want you to…to take me, and I know you can’t really do that while you’re still dressed…” Prompto stuttered out shyly.

“Oh really?”

The Shifter nodded, but now he wasn’t so sure. Was Noctis going to do something different?

“Well then…” Noctis purred. “Why don’t you do something about it, then?”

Prompto’s eyes widened in surprise, before he nodded and sat up, his hands moving to the hem of Noctis’s shirt. He shyly began to slide the raven’s shirt up, blushing as his fingers brushed against the Nightwalker’s toned abdomen. Once he’d lifted the shirt up enough, Noctis lazily lifted his arms, letting Prompto remove it all on his own. The blonde managed to get Noctis’s shirt off, tossing it somewhere obscure on the floor. He then moved to undo his soon-to-be lover’s pants, his blush darkening as he felt the heat from the obvious bulge in the raven’s pants.

And Noctis, meanwhile, didn’t move to help him in the least; he merely watched him lazily. Prompto swallowed thickly as he undid Noctis’s pants, before he lightly pushed the taller male back to lie down on their bed, that way he could actually get the pants off. Once the button and zipper were undone, he slid the pants down Noctis’s legs, his mouth going dry as the raven’s underwear went with, exposing him completely once both articles of clothing were off.

As he let the blonde watch him for a few moments, Noctis smirked cheekily. “So…like what you see?”

The smaller male nodded shyly, his face crimson and his blush having spread to his shoulders. Smirking softly, the Nightwalker quipped, “Well? Are you going to do something or are you content just to gawk?”

“I…don’t know what to do…” Prompto admitted, embarrassed.

“Alright…” Noctis murmured, bringing up a hand and making a ‘come hither’ motion. “C’mere…” The Shifter complied, moving over to the raven willingly. Smiling, Noctis took Prompto’s arm, and tugged him down on top of him, pulling him in for another kiss.

Prompto kissed back lovingly, a soft gasp escaping him when he felt the Nightwalker’s hot flesh pressed against his own half-hardened cock. Just then, Noctis’s other hand suddenly slipped along his back, and then curled along Prompto’s ass, squeezing firmly. This drew a startled squeak from the blonde, and his face burned with his blush as he pulled back.

Noctis hummed softly, smirking up at the blonde. Prompto gave a soft whine, before moving in and kissing the Nightwalker again, trying to show that he trusted Noctis to treat him right without words. The show of trust made Noctis moan softly against the blonde, before he reached out and pulled Prompto even closer.

The smaller male gave a pleased hum at being held so close, happy that Noctis understood. Just then, Noctis’s fingers slipped down, and then, gingerly, pressed further downward between his ass cheeks. A curious noise emitted from Prompto, but he didn’t tense or fight it, remaining relaxed against the Nightwalker.

Which was exactly when Noctis pressed his finger against the blonde’s entrance, just enough to let it be known what he wanted to do. The Shifter still didn’t tense, as he fully trusted the taller male to not hurt him. Once he was sure that it was okay, Noctis’s finger pressed inside.

Prompto felt a slight twinge of pain at the intrusion, but distracted himself from it by focusing on kissing Noctis. Noctis hummed softly, adjusting his head briefly, before he slipped his finger further inside. The blonde gave a quiet moan into Noctis’s mouth, shivering lightly at the foreign sensation and as he started to become fully hard.

Noctis briefly pulled away then to whisper, “Prom…stop me if I’m hurting you…okay?”

“I trust you, and I know you won’t,” Prompto breathed, smiling softly at the Nightwalker.

Noctis seemed a bit worried, still, but in the end, he smiled softly. “Right…” he murmured, before tugging him back in, while moving his finger slowly. The smaller male moaned quietly as that pale finger moved, stretching him, and he wrapped his arms around the raven’s neck, holding himself even closer. And then, after a moment more of this, Noctis added a second finger.

Prompto stiffened for a split second this time from the slight increase in pain, but he quickly relaxed again, distracting himself again by running his tongue along Noctis’s bottom lip to try and deepen the kiss. Humming softly, Noctis bit down lightly on Prompto’s lip, even as he began to move his fingers apart slowly. The Shifter didn’t even notice the pain this time, since he occupied himself by trying to tempt Noctis’s tongue to meet his own.

Which worked, as he curled his tongue around Prompto’s, tugging it into his mouth as he continued to move his fingers tenderly. Prompto moaned a little louder this time, beginning to enjoy the sensation of being stretched, combined with the heated kiss they were sharing. After what felt like ages, Noctis finally pulled his hand away, and pulled back from the kiss. The blonde gave a disappointed, needy whine in response as he gazed pleadingly at the taller male, already missing the filling sensation.

“Sssh…” Noctis shushed, pressing a finger to his lips, before he pushed up so that he could sit on the bed properly. Prompto complied, waiting somewhat patiently, even as his dick throbbed with need. Once they were both in a good position, Noctis smiled up at Prompto, as his hands reached up and curled around his ass. “Ready?”

“Yeah… Make me yours,” the smaller male whispered, leaning forward to kiss the Nightwalker briefly. Humming softly, Noctis spread open his ass, and then, slowly, lowered the blonde down. Prompto tensed up for an instant at the feeling of Noctis’s cock stretching him open, more so than his fingers ever could have, but he relaxed again as he gazed into those steely blue eyes, letting out a soft moan.

The Nightwalker shushed him gently, rubbing his fingers along the skin, slowly lowering the blonde entirely. Finally, the Shifter was fully seated in Noctis’s lap with said raven’s dick in his ass completely, and this made him moan quietly. This was finally happening for them, and it honestly made Prompto almost want to cry from how passionate the moment was, if he was being completely honest with himself. As it was, tears formed in his eyes, but he smiled lovingly at Noctis without speaking, not trusting his voice at the moment. Spotting the tears, Noctis shushed him gently, reaching up to wipe them away tenderly. Once he had, he tugged him back in for a soft kiss.

And Prompto kissed back tenderly, before he began to tentatively move, raising his hips and lowering himself back down on Noctis’s cock. This made Noctis let out a grunt of concentration, biting his lip. That didn’t help much, as his hands curled around his waist, and then lifted him up before pulling him back down. The blonde gave a louder moan this time in response, already enjoying the feeling of his lover’s cock rubbing against his inner walls.

Groaning heavily, Noctis bit his lip, as he continued to move Prompto over and over again. And then, he adjusted his grip, and then slammed him down. This tore a pleasured cry from Prompto’s throat, as he felt the head of the Nightwalker’s cock strike something deep within him that made him see stars. Chuckling, Noctis lifted him again, and then pulled him down just as fiercely.

The smaller male gave a choked cry, moaning loudly as he was thrust into, truly loving the multitude of sensations coursing through him, even as that coil of heat in his belly started to tighten again. Smirking softly and chuckling breathlessly, Noctis pulled him into another deep kiss, managing to increase the pace he had set even further. Prompto groaned lowly into the raven’s mouth, arms wrapping around that pale neck again to keep himself as close as possible.

As he pulled away from the kiss, Noctis grunted out, “Prom…I love you…”

“A-ah…!” the Shifter gasped as his sweet spot was struck again. “I-I love you, too, Noct…!” He moaned out the Nightwalker’s name, whimpering briefly as he got closer to release. The raven smiled with a breathless chuckle, before he kissed him again, while at the same time reaching around and beginning to pump the boy’s cock again. Prompto gave a piercing cry this time, the added stimulation bringing him much closer to release. His face was flushed as he rode Noctis, the red fading to pink as it reached his shoulders, and his eyes were closed in pure bliss. All in all, he looked gorgeous to Noctis.

Hissing as Prompto tightened around him, Noctis almost lost it then and there. However, he held back and moved over to nip and suckle harshly at the boy’s throat—just before he slammed down Prompto firmly. The blonde gasped sharply, before giving an ecstasy-filled scream of his lover’s name as he came for the second time, his cum spurting onto Noctis’s stomach and chest as he clenched tightly around him. Noctis grunted at the tightness, just as he gave a strangled cry as his own release hit him, filling up the blonde boy.

Prompto whimpered and shuddered as he was filled with the raven’s white hot seed, and he soon fell forward onto Noctis’s chest, his energy spent as he went limp. Breathing out heavily, Noctis chuckled, easing himself out of the boy, gently placing him down on the bed. The smaller male managed to snuggle as close as he could, despite his exhaustion, and he smiled quietly at the Nightwalker.

“Happy Birthday,” he whispered, kissing the taller male chastely.

Noctis chuckled at the simple quip. “Heh…best birthday ever,” he mumbled softly, settling next to the blonde and tugging the blanket over them both. “Goodnight, Prom…”

“G’night, Noct… Love you…” Prompto murmured, curling against Noctis as he began to fall asleep. Noctis chuckled softly, before he rested his head down, pulling Prompto close to him before falling asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The following morning, Prompto woke feeling tired still, but he knew they had to get up. However, when he started to move to stretch his arms and back, he gave a pained yip as he felt a shock of pain shoot through his spine from his ass. That’s when the memories of the night before rushed back into his mind, and his cheeks burned crimson once again as he remembered what he and Noctis had done.

Not that he regretted a single bit of it, of course. In fact, he had truly loved every second of it, and he wouldn’t change a thing if he had to do it over again. And in all actuality, if he was being completely honest with himself, he wanted to have Noctis inside of him again. It felt too good to not have him inside like that.

Unfortunately, his ass and spine had other ideas, as they protested irritably when he cuddled closer to the Nightwalker, hoping to go back to sleep. A small whine escaped him unbidden at the pain, waking Noctis.

“…hmm?” Noctis hummed, blinking his eyes open. “Prom?”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you…” Prompto apologized, wincing as his ass protested against any and all movement. “Just…hurts a bit…” The Nightwalker frowned in worry, before he reached around and gently massaged his lower back with one hand. The blonde relaxed at the soothing touch, feeling the pain start to dissipate, making him hum pleasantly. He nuzzled the raven’s neck lovingly, whispering soft thanks for the relief.

“Better?”

“Mm-hmm…” Prompto hummed, pulling back to smile warmly at his lover. “Good morning, by the way.”

That made the Nightwalker laugh softly. “Good morning,” he parroted.

The smaller male moved back in, nuzzling Noctis’s neck affectionately as he somehow managed to snuggle even closer. “…I don’t wanna leave our room,” he admitted, keeping his face against the taller male’s neck, inhaling his warm scent.

“‘Fraid we’re going to have to… Iggy will be coming by soon for breakfast, I’m sure.”

At that, Prompto pouted. “Can’t we take the day to ourselves?” he asked in a whine.

“I’m afraid not, Prom… Plus, I need to get back to work.”

“But…” the Shifter tried to protest, but trailed off with a grumble, because even though Noctis was right, that didn’t mean the situation was. His gaze lowered sadly, as he honestly didn’t know what he would do this time to keep busy while Noctis worked.

Noctis sighed as he moved to plant a kiss on the boy's forehead. “Relax, Prom… How ‘bout this; I’ll dig out my old console, and you can play the original King’s Knight while I work?”

“Really? But don’t you want to play it first?” Prompto asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“I’ve actually played it a long time ago, already…but the cartridge got corrupted, so I wasn’t able to play anymore,” Noctis admitted. Then he smiled and added, “So I don’t mind if you play it first.”

The blonde blinked, before he reached up and hugged his lover around his neck. “Thank you,” he murmured. “Hopefully that’ll keep me busy until you’re done.”

“Hmm…assuming it’s the same game I remember, it should…”

“Still, I’ll be eagerly awaiting when you’re finished,” Prompto chuckled.

“I’m sure you will…”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. “Noct, Prompto. Time for breakfast.”

The smaller male groaned into the pillow, not wanting to move. His stomach, however, growled at the mention of food. “Dammit…” he grumbled.

Chuckling, Noctis sat up. “We’ll be right there, Iggy,” he called out.

Prompto missed Noctis’s warmth immediately, but sat up as well with a sigh. “This sucks…” he pouted.

“Relax…the day will be over before you know it.”

“Still…” The Shifter slid out of bed, shivering lightly at the cool air of the room on his bare skin. This made the Nightwalker chuckle softly, as he moved to get dressed.

Prompto pouted at the chuckle, but got up and dressed as well, blushing as he felt Noctis’s gaze on him again. “You have a thing for watching me get dressed and undressed, don’t you?” he asked with an amused snort.

“Problem?” Noctis chuckled.

“Not at all,” the blonde replied with a small laugh. Once he was dressed, he and Noctis headed to the dining room, their fingers linked together for once. When they arrived at the dining hall, Zidane and Mikoto were already there, and neither of the two seemed surprised at the handholding.

“Morning!” Zidane quipped with a smile.

“…Good morning,” Mikoto said, closing the book she’d been reading.

“Morning, you two.”

“Morning,” Prompto greeted as he took his seat by Noctis. “Zidane, Mikoto, you got any plans for today?” he asked his friends.

“Not really, why?” Zidane asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“Noct’s gonna let me play King’s Knight on his old console today, and I wanted to know if you want to play, too?”

“Ooh! Sounds cool. What do you think, Miko?”

“Hmm… Sure.”

“Awesome!” Prompto grinned, before smiling happily at Noctis. Noctis smiled in turn, just as Ignis and the servants came by with their breakfast. The smaller male smiled contently as he began to eat his breakfast, but deep down, he really wanted the day to go by quick. After all, he wanted to be intimate with Noctis again, to be completely honest.

Once they’d finished breakfast, Noctis turned to Ignis as he came to collect the dishes. “Ignis, do you remember where I put the Famicom?”

Humming curiously, Ignis thought for a moment. “I do believe you’ve put it in the cupboard, on the top shelf.”

“Ah, right, thanks.”

“Is that the console?” Prompto asked curiously after swallowing a bite.

“Yeah,” Noctis said as he stood up. “C’mon. Let’s go find it.”

“Kay,” the wolf Shifter nodded, getting up to follow. Zidane and Mikoto followed after calmly. Once in Noctis and Prompto’s room, Noctis moved to the cupboard and looked around on the shelves.

“Hmm… Ah, there it is,” he mumbled, pulling out a beige and red console.

“How long has it been up there?” Prompto questioned, frowning at the layer of dust on it.

“A while…” Noctis chuckled, blowing the dust away. “Should still work, though.”

“You sure?” Zidane asked cautiously.

“I guess we’ll have to see,” the taller blonde shrugged. After setting it up, Noctis put the cartridge into the console and flicked it and the TV on. And a few moments later, the game’s title screen came up.

“There we go,” Noctis chuckled.

“Nice!”

“Thank god the dust didn’t kill it,” Prompto snickered.

“Hardy har,” Noctis chuckled, as he passed the controller to Prompto. “You kids gonna be alright?”

“Eh. Pretty sure we’ll be fine,” Zidane said with a shrug.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll find you if I need you,” Prompto smiled. Noctis nodded with a small smile, before he briefly kissed Prompto and then left the Shifters alone.

Once they were, though, Zidane smirked and turned to Prompto. “So?”

“So…what?”

“So how’s your back?”

Immediately, Prompto’s face darkened with an embarrassed blush, and he muttered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Oddly, it was **Mikoto** who giggled and said, “Your face says you’re lying.”

“Hush,” the wolf Shifter grumbled, before sighing. “I’m fine, if you’re that desperate to know.”

Zidane laughed and Mikoto giggled. “Good to know,” the shorter male chuckled, before he moved over and took a seat. “Anyway! Let’s play, shall we?”

“Yeah,” Prompto nodded, relieved there was no further teasing, as he started the game up. He played for a few hours, before giving Zidane a turn. As he sat back and watched his friend play for a while, his thoughts turned to Noctis, and how he just wanted to be with him, even if it meant waiting while the raven worked on his dumb papers.

“Hey guys? Mind if I go see Noct for a bit?” he asked. “You guys can keep playing.”

“Hm?” Zidane hummed as he looked up briefly, before going back to the game. “Sure thing.”

“Go ahead,” Mikoto added with a nod.

“Thanks,” the taller blonde smiled, before heading out to Noctis’s study. He felt like a pup again as he went up there, like when he would pester the raven into playing with him. When he reached Noctis’s study, he knocked on the door before walking in without waiting for an answer. “Hey,” he greeted with a small smile, stepping up to the desk.

Noctis blinked when the Shifter entered, before he cocked an eyebrow. “Hey yourself. What brings you here?”

“Not much. Just was thinking about you,” Prompto replied. “Besides, I want to be with you, even if you’re just working.”

Laughing softly, Noctis shook his head. “Somehow I’m not surprised.”

“What, you don’t want me around while you work?” the blonde huffed a little.

“Not saying that…” Noctis chuckled. “Just saying you’re predictable. That’s all.”

“Nothing wrong with spending time with you, even if you’re working,” Prompto shrugged, before shifting and padding over to curl up at Noctis’s feet. ‘ _How much do you have left to do?_ ’

Chuckling, Noctis went back to his work. “Quite a bit more, I’m afraid.”

Prompto sighed heavily, before asking, ‘ _…Hey, Noct?_ ’

“Hm?”

‘ _How come you always have to do paperwork? You’ve never really given me a good answer. It just doesn’t make sense to me…_ ’

“Well…that’s just what you get when you’re in my position…” Noctis said as he tapped his pen against the desk briefly. “All these legal things to oversee…doesn’t really get any less no matter what I do.”

‘ _Huh? What do you mean by that?_ ’ the blonde frowned, looking up at the raven in confusion.

“Exactly what I said… not like I’ll not be King next morning…”

‘ _Wait, King?_ ’ Prompto repeated, now thoroughly puzzled. ‘ _You never told me anything about being King…_ ’

“…I didn’t?” Noctis murmured, pausing to think. “…oh yeah…I didn’t, did I?”

‘ _That’s a pretty fucking huge thing to forget to tell me! Especially when I’ve been living here for 13 years!_ ’ the Shifter yelped, staring up at the Nightwalker with wide eyes.

The raven merely shrugged. “I suppose so…”

“Noooct!” Prompto pouted once he shifted back, sitting at Noctis’s feet. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner at all?”

Shrugging, Noctis said, “Didn’t think it was that important.”

“Uh…what? How the hell is that not important?!”

“At least you didn’t treat me like royalty. Do you have ANY idea how annoying that gets after the first few hundred years?”

“N…no…” Prompto mumbled, not having taken that into consideration. “I’m sorry…” Noctis smiled as he reached up and ruffled the blonde’s hair. The smaller male yipped at the ruffling, swatting his lover’s hand away. “Well, I hope that’s the last of the secrets you’ve kept from me,” he pouted. “Remember last time you didn’t tell me everything?” The reminder was uttered quietly.

“Easy, Prom…” Noctis chuckled. “I’m not an infinite bag of secrets.”

“Hey, I really would have preferred you told me about the effect the blood moon has on you rather than find out the hard way like I did,” Prompto huffed a little, but he leaned against Noctis’s leg regardless.

“I wasn’t expecting that to happen so soon, alright?” Noctis chuckled out, even as he went back to his work.

“Fiiiiiine…” the Shifter conceded, settling and resting his head against the raven’s thigh. He really just wanted to be close to the Nightwalker right now, even if that meant having to wait through the boring-ass paperwork. After all, maybe he could somehow be intimate with his lover again tonight, given that Noctis wasn’t too tired from the day.

If Noctis seemed aware of his thoughts, it certainly didn’t show. The Nightwalker was far too focused on his work for that, and he hummed softly as he tapped his pen on occasion. Prompto was half-tempted to ‘distract’ Noctis from his work, but he decided not to. Maybe some other time, but for now, he would just rest.

As Noctis worked, though, his other hand suddenly came down and ruffled the blonde’s hair blindly. The blonde yipped a bit in surprise, before looking up at the taller male curiously. But Noctis didn’t even look over as he went straight back to his work. Prompto pouted briefly, before resting his head against Noctis’s thigh again.

“Keep looking like that and your face will stick…” Noctis drawled.

“Hey!” the Shifter huffed, before settling again. “I was just getting comfy, too…”

Noctis merely chuckled. Prompto rolled his eyes a little, but soon relaxed as he started to fall asleep.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When Prompto woke up, it was to Noctis softly kissing the top of his head, making him groan softly as he opened his eyes to look up at the raven curiously.

“Wakey wakey, Prom,” the King chuckled. “I’m done.”

The blonde yawned widely, before smiling at his lover. “Thank god. I was hoping I wouldn’t sleep for more than a couple hours,” he laughed.

Noctis chuckled as he stood up. “It’s just been an hour and a half. C’mon, let’s go find Zidane and Mikoto.”

“Okay,” Prompto smiled, getting to his feet and stretching back, making his back click as his shirt rode up a little, exposing the pale skin beneath. Noctis watched him quietly, a small frown on his face, but he wiped the look off his face before Prompto could see it. Once the smaller male had relaxed again, he smiled warmly at Noctis before starting to head to the door to go find Zidane and Mikoto.

It took them only a little bit to get back to their shared room. And when they came in, Mikoto was playing through King’s Knight, while Zidane was standing off to the side, looking at something he was holding in his hand curiously.

“Hey Zidane, Mikoto,” Prompto greeted when they came in. “Whatcha looking at?”

Zidane looked up with a hum. before he held up what he'd been holding. “Yo, Noct. Who’re these?”

Blinking, Noctis walked over and took the item Zidane had been holding. “Who are wh… …oh.”

“What is it, Noct?” the wolf Shifter inquired, curious.

“……”

When Prompto didn’t get a response, he walked over and peeked over his shoulder. And when he did, he realized Noctis was holding a picture frame with what appeared to be a family photo in it. It held an aging man with gray hair and beard, but a warm expression on his face, dressed in only the finest clothes Prompto had ever seen, and a silvery horn-like crown of some sort adorned his left temple. Beside him sat a woman with deep black hair and a gentle smile on her face.

However, what almost immediately drew Prompto’s attention was the young boy sitting in between them.

“…Is that you in this picture, Noct…?” Prompto inquired hesitantly, looking up at the Nightwalker in concern when he didn’t reply right away.

“…yeah…” Noctis murmured.

“What about the couple with you? Who are they?”

“…my…well…parents, I guess you could say…”

“Really?” Prompto blinked, surprised. He looked at the picture again, and then smiled softly. “They seem really nice.”

“They were,” Noctis murmured softly.

“…‘were’?” Zidane said slowly, as even Mikoto paused the game and walked over.

“…What happened to them…?” the wolf Shifter asked quietly.

“…I’d rather not talk about it…”

Zidane frowned, before he held up his hands. “It’s fine, man,” he said. “If ya ain’t comfortable, no need to bring it up.”

“Sorry...” Prompto mumbled, lowering his gaze sadly. Obviously, they weren’t around, or even alive for that matter. And even worse, it was clearly a sensitive topic for his lover, even after a long time, by the sound of things.

Zidane looked around slowly, taking in everything, before he sighed and clapped his hands together. “Anyway!! We’ve got some time still until dinner…so why don’t we go see the Chocobo chicks until then?” he quipped with a grin.

Noctis blinked, twice, before he smiled. “Heh…sure, why not?”

“Sounds good,” the taller blonde agreed, linking his fingers with Noctis’s as they left. Once they reached the pen, the chicks were happily chirping around their parents. “Hey little cuties,” Prompto called as they got close, and the chicks were quick to notice, swarming over to the group as they entered the pen.

“Kwih kwih kwih~”

Noctis laughed as the chicks crowded around them happily, and he bent down to pet them. Zidane, meanwhile, moved over to Choco and patted the large bird’s neck tenderly, while Mikoto moved over to Sora.

“They look so good, but they’re growing quick, too,” the wolf Shifter sighed as he pet them. “Before you know it, we’ll have eight fully grown Chocobos.”

“Yep,” Zidane chuckled softly, grinning as he moved over, one of the chicks toddling after him. “Means you’ll probably have to think about expanding, eh, ‘Your Majesty’?”

This made Noctis frown. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that, Zidane.”

“Sorry, sorry,” the blonde chuckled, holding up his hands.

Prompto shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think any differently of you, Noct. I still love you regardless,” he smiled.

“That’s better,” Mikoto said with a nod. “It’s better to focus on someone’s personality rather than their status.”

“Definitely,” Zidane chuckled.

At those words, the taller blonde nodded. “See? We don’t care that you’re King, Noct. You’re you.”

Noctis smiled warmly. “Yeah, thanks.” Prompto smiled as well, tucking himself into the raven’s side.

As they spent almost an hour at the pen, dinner time slowly rolled in until Ignis finally arrived. “Evening,” he said casually.

“Hey,” Noctis said, petting one of the chicks lightly.

“Dinner’s ready, huh?” the blonde by his side guessed.

“Correct. Shall we go?”

“Yeah, sure,” the King said calmly as he stood up.

“Alright! Let’s mosey!” Zidane laughed as his sister dusted off her skirt.

“What’d you make tonight, Ignis?” Prompto inquired, curious.

The sandy blonde chuckled casually as he adjusted his glasses. “Only one way to find out, hm?”

“Oh, all right,” the wolf Shifter sighed, but tucked himself into Noctis’s side as they headed to the dining room. He was glad they didn’t have to hide their relationship at all anymore. Noctis smiled softly as he moved his arm around the blonde’s shoulders as they walked. Ignis obviously didn’t care about this, and Zidane and Mikoto just followed after quietly. When they reached the dining room, Gladio smirked when he saw the couple.

“Get a room, lovebirds,” he teased, making Prompto blush.

“Oh suck it up, Gladio,” Noctis grumbled, though he was also smirking as he moved over to his seat. Prompto took his seat as well, but paused as he smelled Ignis’s familiar scent really strongly on Gladio.

“Why do you smell like Ignis, Gladio?” he frowned, making the brunette nearly choke on his water.

Ignis flinched briefly at the question, before he coughed. “Is that so strange, really?”

“No, I mean, wait…” the wolf Shifter trailed off, sniffing the air curiously. “Hey, you guys smell really strongly like each other! Like, more than usual!” The exclamation drew a blush to Gladio’s face, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Ignis actually groaned at that and placed his fingers to his forehead. Zidane regarded it for a moment, before he smirked. “Oooh I see where this is going~”

“Hang on… What were you guys doing?!” Prompto demanded, but Gladio refused to even look at anyone.

“What was that you said earlier, Gladio?” Noctis chuckled out. “Maybe you should follow your own advice.”

“Shut it,” the larger man grumbled, making Prompto laugh.

“You guys were making out earlier, weren’t you?” he snickered.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Noctis finally said, laughing softly. “How ‘bout we just get down to dinner, shall we?”

“That’s fine,” the blonde seated by him grinned. Zidane chuckled as he hopped on his seat. Mikoto merely shook her head and took her own seat, not seeming too bothered at all. Prompto gave a pleased look, and despite his initial surprise at discovering Gladio and Ignis’s relationship, he was actually happy for them. And the Nightwalker didn’t even seem to be surprised or worried, as he settled there in silence. The smirk on his face said enough, though.

Dinner was brought out shortly after, and Prompto nodded his thanks to Ignis as he received his plate. Once Ignis had taken his seat, they all turned to the dinner. Which consisted of Spicy Long-Bone Rib Steak, another dish Prompto had grown to like very much over time. The wolf Shifter grinned excitedly, before tucking into his steak eagerly.

Noctis merely hummed as he began to eat, occasionally taking a sip from his drink. Zidane, meanwhile, was having a hushed conversation with Mikoto about one thing or another, something they often did during dinner. Once dinner was done, Prompto gave a content noise at having a full stomach. This made the Nightwalker chuckle, but he didn’t say anything about it just yet.

“Ready for bed?” the smaller male asked his lover, hoping Noctis would be up for being intimate again tonight.

“Hm… Sure thing,” Noctis said with a chuckle. Prompto smiled at that, before they all bid each other goodnight, Noctis and Prompto retiring to their room. If Noctis was aware of the blonde’s thoughts, then it didn’t show as he walked in silence. When they got inside, Noctis closing the door behind them, though…

“You sure know how to be a tease, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

However, the Nightwalker didn’t say anything, as he stepped up to the blonde and dragged him toward him by his shirt. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice your shirt riding up, hm?”

“Wha? I-I didn’t mean for that, though…!” the smaller male yipped, but despite his protests, he still felt a small thrill run through him as he was pulled.

“Uh-huh…and you just expect me to believe that?” said the Nightwalker, grabbing the blonde’s chin and lifting it up.

“Honest, Noct! It wasn’t on purpose!” Prompto protested, his bright blue eyes wide.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

Prompto didn’t get the time to respond, though, as Noctis pulled him in for a fierce kiss. The Shifter whimpered into the kiss, but still responded eagerly. Growling from the back of his throat, Noctis pulled him in firmly, forcing the blonde’s mouth open to deepen the kiss. Prompto whined, but the noise soon shifted into a moan as the kiss was deepened.

Just as quickly, Noctis’s hand slipped down and grabbed him by his ass, squeezing firmly. The blonde gave a muffled yelp into the taller male’s mouth, but instinctively wrapped his slim legs around Noctis’s hips. As he did that, Noctis hummed deeply, squeezing firmly, as he walked toward his bed.

Prompto wrapped his arms around Noctis’s pale neck, keeping himself close as he was carried to the bed. With a small, cold smirk, Noctis moved over and crawled over the blonde Shifter. The smaller male shivered lightly at the sight of the smirk. Catching the shiver, Noctis chuckled softly, before catching Prompto’s lips in another kiss. Prompto kissed back eagerly, a quiet whimper escaping him.

A deep purring sound escaped from the Nightwalker’s throat, before he pulled away and began to kiss his way down the blonde’s chest. The Shifter’s breath hitched; despite still being fully clothed, he was still already so sensitive. Humming softly, Noctis moved his hands up and shoved the blonde’s shirt up, before latching his mouth onto the left nipple firmly.

Prompto squeaked at the warm wetness on his chest, his cheeks burning with a blush, and he shuddered subtly. Chuckling, Noctis licked at the nipple, before he closed his teeth around it. The blonde gasped at the teasing, before whining with need as he felt himself hardening.

And Noctis merely hummed as he licked it, and then suckled on it firmly. Squirming a little beneath the King, Prompto gave an almost pained whimper as his pants started to become nearly painfully tight. And then, Noctis reached up and flicked his fingers across the other nipple.

The smaller male shuddered heavily, about to grip the sheets, but then reached for his own pants to try and undo the button and zipper. However, Noctis immediately smacked his hands away.

“Noooct…!” Prompto whined, pouting. “They’re tight…!”

“Deal with it,” Noctis growled against Prompto’s chest, as he twisted the other nipple between his fingers. Immediately, the Shifter gasped, arching off the bed a little as pinpricks of pleasure sparked from his chest. Noctis smirked in response, before he pulled back briefly so that he could switch sides.

Prompto moaned and whimpered as he was teased, his pants becoming tighter as Noctis continued. And if Noctis knew of this, then he chose to simply ignore it, as he pressed closer until their lower bodies touched. The blonde moaned louder at the contact, shuddering and whining with need.

Noctis took a deep breath through his nose, as if drinking in the blonde’s scent. As his eyes opened, though, they were glowing a deep violet. Prompto’s breathed hitched at the sight, before he somehow managed to squirm out of his shirt. The moment he got the shirt up to his wrists, though, Noctis moved up and tied the shirt around them, securing them together.

“Noct?!” the smaller male yelped, confused as hell now.

“Keep them up there,” Noctis said simply, his eyes almost seeming to pulse now. Prompto whimpered, not really sure about this. His nerves were starting to get the better of him at the thought of being tied up. “Sssh…” the Nightwalker shushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. “Do you trust me?”

“Y…yeah, but…” the Shifter stuttered, trailing off as he bit his lip.

Which was answered with a soft kiss to his lips. “Don’t worry… I promise I won’t hurt you…” Prompto nodded shyly, trusting his lover. Smiling softly, Noctis pressed another kiss to his lips, before he moved to press hot kisses along the blonde’s throat.

The smaller male moaned and shivered at the kisses to his throat, once again remembering how his pants were painfully tight when his cock throbbed in his pants. And it only seemed to get worse as Noctis’s hand slipped down and pressed down on his crotch. Prompto gave a startled yet pleasured cry, whimpering loudly.

Chuckling softly, Noctis moved up and whispered in the blonde’s ear. “Tell me, Prom… what do you want me to do?”

“I…” the Shifter swallowed thickly. “I-I want you…inside of me…please…”

“How badly do you want it?”

“Very badly,” Prompto whispered, voice thick with desire.

“Then…” Noctis purred, smirking. “Beg for it.”

The blonde’s eyes widened at the command, but he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere in his current situation unless he did so. “Noct, please…fuck me…!” he pleaded. Chuckling softly, the Nightwalker finally reached down and flicked open the blonde’s button. Prompto nearly moaned out of relief as the pressure was relieved, and he watched Noctis intently.

It didn’t take long after that before Noctis undid the zipper as well, before slipping his hand down the front of his pants. The effect was immediate: the smaller male gave a pleasured cry and tossed his head back, shuddering heavily at the contact.

“Feels good, hm?”

“Y-yeah…” Prompto stammered, moaning as the raven’s hand moved a little.

“Good…” Noctis murmured, wrapping his fingers around the blonde’s cock. The Shifter whined with need, his hips bucking into the contact a bit. After teasing the blonde for almost five minutes like this, Noctis pulled his hand out again and proceeded to tug his pants down.

Prompto was breathing heavily by this point, and once his underwear and pants were completely off, he shivered at the feeling of the room’s cool air on his leaking cock.

Once he was completely undressed, Noctis moved back, smirking softly. “Keep your hands up there…” he warned…as he moved down and dragged his tongue across the blonde’s engorged flesh.

“A-AH!!” the blonde cried out, his hands instinctively trying to grasp onto something, _anything_ , to keep himself from coming too quickly. Thankfully, his fingers swiftly found the headboard, and he managed to curl them around the wood, as Noctis licked and nipped at the underside, humming softly. Prompto shuddered heavily, moaning and whimpering loudly as he was pleasured.

Slowly, Noctis moved up, licking along the flesh, before he closed his lips around the head of his cock. The smaller male nearly choked at the wet heat, before practically clamping his teeth down on his bottom lip as he struggled not to cum. Noctis, however, didn’t give him any reprieve, as he licked along the head, before he dipped his tongue along the slit firmly.

Prompto cried out, the noise sounding pitiful and pleading, as he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. And just as suddenly, Noctis dipped his head down entirely. The Shifter stiffened for a split second, bright blue eyes wide, before he squeezed them shut as he gave a choked scream.

Noctis chuckled from the back of his throat, before he began to bob his head, and quickly at that. Because of that, it didn’t take long for Prompto to release, a strangled cry tearing from his throat. The moment he did, Noctis stilled, swallowing heavily, humming softly, still, before he finally pulled back again.

The blonde’s chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, a faint whine escaping him on each exhale. Smiling lazily, Noctis moved up and gently kissed the blonde to his lips. Prompto kissed back a little tiredly, a flicker of disappointment running through him briefly. He was already getting tired, but he wanted Noctis inside of him.

“Tell me…” Noctis suddenly whispered. “What do you want?”

The smaller male shivered lightly at the whisper, before he panted out, “I…I want you…to fuck me…please…”

Smirking, Noctis moved back. “Spread your legs.”

Prompto complied, but then he hesitantly murmured, “…Can I hold you…when you do…?”

“Hmm…” Noctis considered that for a moment. Finally, though, he smirked, reaching up and undoing the shirt from around Prompto’s wrists. “Just this once…”

The Shifter nodded, but he had a feeling this wouldn’t be the one time. After all, he truly felt that being able to hold the raven as they had sex made it that much more special and intimate. The Nightwalker didn’t say anything else as he pressed a deep kiss to the blonde’s mouth, humming once again as he moved his hand down. Prompto spread his legs a little wider, relaxing himself in anticipation for what Noctis was about to do.

Without waiting for him to give the okay, Noctis pressed his finger inside. The blonde’s breath hitched a little, but he trusted the taller male not to hurt him. Despite the sudden intrusion, it didn’t actually hurt as Noctis’s finger slipped in and out in a steady rhythm.

Prompto shivered lightly as he was prepped, still unused to the sensation. And Noctis gently shushed him, moving slowly and gently before finally adding another finger. The smaller male gave a soft moan as he was filled a little more.

Humming softly, Noctis turned his hand and scissored his fingers at the same time. Prompto gave a small gasp, before a loud moan escaped him as his sweet spot was brushed against, his back arching off the bed. Finally, after what felt like forever, Noctis pulled his hand out.

The Shifter reached out for Noctis when he felt the emptiness, whining pitifully. Shushing him softly, Noctis pulled back entirely and removed his clothes. Prompto watched his lover with pleading eyes, his body a trembling, thrumming mess with need.

Once he’d gotten out of his clothes, Noctis briefly cricked his neck, before he smirked down at Prompto, before he moved in to kiss him again. The blonde kissed back lovingly, wrapping his arms around the Nightwalker’s pale neck to keep him close. With a soft chuckle, Noctis moved into position, before briefly moving back. “Ready?”

“I want you, so yes,” Prompto whispered with a nod, brushing his lips against Noctis’s. Smiling, Noctis reached over and pulled up Prompto’s legs.  And then, after giving him a brief peck on his lips, he moved in. The smaller male gave a soft gasp at the stretching, before pulling Noctis closer by wrapping his arms around the raven’s neck, tucking his face into the hollow of the taller male’s throat as he adjusted.

“…you okay?”

“…You feel…bigger…than last night…” Prompto mumbled, his face burning crimson as he kept it hidden. Noctis chuckled softly, pressing soft kisses to the blonde’s throat, rubbing his sides tenderly. The Shifter moaned quietly at the affectionate gestures, before he nodded to Noctis, giving him the okay to move.

Smiling warmly, Noctis adjusted his position so that Prompto’s legs were hooked over his arms. And only once he was in position did he start to move. Prompto gave soft moans and (surprisingly) mewls as the raven began to thrust smoothly in and out of him. The sounds made Noctis laugh breathlessly, even as he leaned down to kiss his lover. Which effectively folded the blonde in half.

The blonde kissed back eagerly, before he gave a slightly strained noise at being folded.

“You okay?” Noctis asked softly into the kiss. Prompto lightly pushed at Noctis’s chest with his hand, before unhooking his legs from the raven’s arms when he had enough space and swiftly wrapping them around the Nightwalker’s lower back, a pleased moan escaping him at the change in angle.

“Now I am,” he murmured, pulling his lover back in for another kiss. The Nightwalker gave a small chortle at those words, even as he kissed him back fiercely. And then he started moving again. The smaller male moaned loudly into the taller male’s mouth at the thrusts and the fierce kiss, hooking his ankles together behind Noctis’s back to keep them there as he was fucked.

Just then, Noctis reached around and curled his hand around the blonde’s cock, rubbing it in time with his thrusts. Prompto choked out a pleasured cry, shuddering with delight against Noctis.

“Feels good?” Noctis purred out breathlessly. The Shifter nodded briefly, digging his nails into the Nightwalker’s pale back with a loud moan as his sweet spot was struck hard.

“Do you want to cum, Prom? Do you?” the raven purred out into the blonde’s ear, nipping along his earlobe lightly with his fangs.

“Yes…! Please, Noct, make me cum!” Prompto begged shamelessly, clenching slightly around Noctis’s cock.

This made Noctis groan slightly, his fang biting down slightly into the blonde’s lobe. However, he quickly loosened his teeth again, moving back slightly. And then, he murmured, “Then cum. Cum for me, Prompto…”

And with a piercing scream of ecstasy, Prompto did. He came, _hard_ , his cum spattering onto his and Noctis’s stomachs and chests as he clenched tightly around his lover. Groaning harshly, Noctis snapped his teeth together firmly, growling briefly, before he gave a strangled cry as his own release hit him. The blonde shuddered as he felt Noctis’s white hot seed fill him, even as he went limp beneath the raven, exhausted.

And for a few more moments, they remained like that, before Noctis released a heavy sigh and moved back and out of the blonde. However, before he could completely pull out, Prompto gave an almost distressed noise as he wrapped his legs around the Nightwalker’s hips.

“Hm?”

The smaller male’s face was bright red as he whispered shyly, “I like…having you…inside of me…”

Noctis chuckled softly as he settled against Prompto. “Alright…just this once…”

Prompto relaxed at the words, before settling down to finally sleep. He kept himself snuggled as close as possible, even with his lover still inside of him. “Goodnight, Noct… Love you…” he murmured, kissing his throat softly.

“Hmm…love you, too, Prom…” Noctis murmured as he settled as well. And soon after, they fell asleep, holding each other close.


	9. Chapter 9

X*X(1 Week Later)X*X

It had been just over a week since Noctis’s birthday, and the only thing that had changed between Prompto and Noctis was that they had become much closer as a couple. The blonde had convinced Noctis into them having sex every few nights, that way on the nights they didn’t, they could actually get the sleep they needed, but still keep their sex life quite active. After all, the raven’s libido was more than prepared to satisfy the smaller male. It was something Prompto honestly believed he would never tire of.

However, since the Nightwalker had sucked him off each time before they actually had sex, the Shifter wanted to return the favor. He would get his chance at some point, but he wasn’t going to push the topic just yet.

As the time had passed, though, it was nearing the time when Zidane and Mikoto would be leaving for their trip to Lindbulm. And even though Prompto knew he would miss them, he hoped they would keep in contact and have a good time.

Right now, though, the blonde was napping at Noctis’s feet in wolf form as the raven did his usual paperwork, something that had recently become routine for them. Noctis silently worked, the sound of his pen moving along the paper being one of the few noises filling the room. The other was that of the Nightwalker humming in thought every so often. The quiet was suddenly interrupted, though, when there was a knock on the door, making Prompto raise his head from his paws curiously.

“Enter,” Noctis said calmly. And when the door opened, Ignis and Gladio stepped into the room.

“Noct, I believe you should take a break for now.”

Blinking, the Nightwalker looked up to Ignis in suspicion. “…What’s going on, Iggy?”

“It’s the council,” Gladio answered, making Prompto tense. The last time the council had needed to speak with Noctis, it almost ended really badly for him.

“Oh _now_ what do they want?” the raven groaned in annoyance.

“I believe they’ve caught wind of your current situation…”

“…greeeaaat…”

‘ _Noct…? They know about us, don’t they?_ ’ Prompto guessed, looking up at the Nightwalker worriedly.

“Certainly sounds like it…” Noctis sighed out.

‘ _…Then I’m coming, too,_ ’ the wolf told him firmly. ‘ _This involves both of us._ ’

“I’d rather not, but…might be best, yeah…” Noctis sighed as he stood up from his seat. Prompto got to his paws, and padded out alongside Noctis, Gladio and Ignis following as they went to see the council. Despite the news they’d just been given, Noctis didn’t appear to be that bothered, and even Ignis and Gladio showed nothing of what they were feeling. It only took a little bit for them to reach the meeting room, which Prompto had, thus far, only seen from the outside before.

When they got inside, there was immediately an irate voice from one of the council members.

“What is that thing doing here?” he demanded, making Prompto give a small whine and fold his ears back.

“First off,” Noctis snarled out dangerously, “good day to you, as well. Secondly, is that any way to treat a fellow resident of the Citadel?”

“That Shifter may reside here under your permission, Your Majesty, but he is _not_ a resident,” the council member huffed, drawing murmured agreement from the others.

“I beg to disagree,” Noctis said simply as he moved toward the seat clearly meant for him, gesturing for Prompto to follow him. “It is exactly because he resides here that he _is_ a resident,” he said as he sat down. The council member grumbled, but didn’t push the subject. The blonde sat down by Noctis’s side, not wanting to shift back at all during this meeting, because he didn’t want to show anything in his expression. Gladio leaned back against the wall behind Noctis, keeping his guard up.

Ignis took his stance on Noctis’s other side, briefly adjusting his glasses. Noctis, meanwhile, settled in his seat solemnly, before he briefly reached down and rubbed Prompto’s head gently.

“Now then…” he said then. “Let’s get to the point, shall we?”

“It’s come to our attention that you have been pursuing relations with this Shifter,” another council member said coolly.

Noctis remained silent for several moments, clearly unimpressed by the news. “…and if I am?” he said simply, rubbing his thumb along the blonde’s ear. “What business is that of yours, hm?”

“Do you not realize the dangers this poses for the kingdom?!” demanded another member of the council. “Have you even considered what the people would think?!”

“…Again; what’s your point?” the Nightwalker repeated.

“You must clearly remember what danger Shifters pose,” a different council member snapped. “When he decides to attack someone, he will not be excused, regardless of if he is someone you’re in relations with or not.” The hidden threat underlying the assumed words made Prompto hunker down a little, his tail tucking.

“…You mean ‘if’,” Noctis corrected simply. “There’s a difference.”

“There is no ‘if’ when it comes to Shifters,” snarled one council member. “It’s only a matter of time before they strike!” Prompto whimpered at the accusation; he wouldn’t attack anyone unless he had to defend himself or someone else.

Of course, Noctis didn’t seem the least bit impressed, as he tapped his fingers along the table. “…and you have proof of this?”

“Pardon?”

“You have proof of Shifters who’ve lived peacefully with people for years suddenly attacking them?”

“…W-well…n-no…”

This, too, didn’t surprise him one bit. “So you have no proof whatsoever…and you expect me to take these ‘concerns’ seriously?”

Prompto looked up at Noctis gratefully, scooting a bit closer before hesitantly speaking. ‘ _I have no reason to attack anyone unless they’re threatening me or those I care about…just like anyone else would…_ ’

Noctis didn’t say anything in response, though he did rub the blonde’s head softly.

“Shut your trap, you—”

“You do _not_ want to finish that,” Noctis interrupted icily, snarling dangerously, which immediately silenced the man. Regardless, Prompto ducked his head timidly with a whimper. He couldn’t help that he was so submissive, though. Noctis, in turn, reached down a little further and ran his hand along the blonde’s fur.

“Now…if you have nothing more to say, then I see no more reason to discuss this any further. You all know I am unable to bear a biological heir…thus it should be of no consequence whom I choose to spend my life with.”

At the mention of the lack of an heir, Prompto looked up at his lover in surprise, not having expected or known that, but he didn’t comment on it.

“…Fine. Then this meeting is adjourned,” the first council member growled, though it was clear he didn’t like the idea.

“Good,” Noctis said firmly as he stood up. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Without another word, Noctis nodded to Ignis and Gladio, then rubbed Prompto’s head, and headed back out the room. The blonde was quick to follow, not wanting to look back at the council as he trotted out of the room. He heard Gladio and Ignis following at a small distance, the two humans not seeing the need to stick close to the couple.

‘ _Hey, Noct?_ ’ Prompto said as he walked alongside Noctis.

“Hmhmm?”

‘ _How come you can’t be a father? Not that I’m complaining, since it means we can be together, but I’m curious._ ’

Noctis looked over briefly, before he sighed. “I’ll explain later…once we’re in the room.”

‘ _Oh, okay…_ ’ the wolf nodded, not wanting to push the issue. He would just have to wait for now.

As they headed over to the room, though, Ignis interrupted them. “Noct, you’re free to leave the rest of the papers for tomorrow.”

At that, Noctis looked back to the sandy blonde. After a moment, though, he smiled. “Thanks, Ignis.”

Prompto nodded to Ignis as well, wordlessly thanking him, before looking up at Noctis in silent question as both Ignis and Gladio left. The man didn’t say anything, and instead he headed to their room. The Shifter stuck close to his side as he went with, not shifting back to human form until they were in their room. Once he had, he went over and sat on their bed, waiting for Noctis to join him so they could talk. The Nightwalker walked over and silently dropped back onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

“…You okay…?” Prompto asked softly as he laid back as well, curling up against his lover.

“…yeah… just annoyed at the damn council… but that’s nothing new…”

“Well, yeah. Especially after that time when I was eight when they tried to basically give Zidane, Mikoto, Kuja, and me the boot…” the blonde sighed. Noctis merely hummed softly. “So… Are you going to tell me?”

For a few moments, Noctis didn’t say anything, before he sighed. “…Nightwalkers are infertile…”

“Really?” Prompto blinked, surprised. He then smiled softly, before kissing the raven’s jaw. “At least I don’t have to worry about you somehow getting me pregnant, then,” he chuckled. “I remember some of the couples of my pack were males, and they still could have children. Not all Shifters can bear, but some can.”

“That so?” Noctis murmured curiously, before he hummed lazily as he climbed back further onto the bed. The smaller male followed after, remaining curled into Noctis’s side.

“Yeah. I dunno if I can, of course, but it doesn’t matter,” he shrugged. “Besides, I don’t mind.” The Nightwalker smiled softly, before he shut his eyes lazily. Prompto hummed contently, pressing a chaste kiss to the taller male’s jaw, before settling as well.

“Hm…” Noctis hummed as he reached around lazily and patted the blonde’s head. The Shifter gave a pleased sound, lightly leaning into the touch, before closing his eyes and falling asleep against his lover.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

As awareness returned to him, Noctis groaned softly, reaching up to rub at his eyes. As he tried to sit up, though, he realized Prompto was lying on top of him. Which, in turn, made him chuckle as he reached over and patted the boy on his head. Prompto gave a soft whine as he was woken, before slowly opening his eyes with a groan.

“Ugh… What time is it?” he grumbled.

Noctis chuckled softly. “Time to wake up. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like a shitty time,” the blonde complained, yawning after he spoke.

This earned him a soft laugh from Noctis. “Maybe… but I’ll bet Zidane and Mikoto will be wondering where you went.”

“Yeah, true…” Prompto sighed, before stretching out in Noctis’s lap and then sitting up. “I’m gonna miss them while they’re gone…”

“Oh come on, it’s not like we’ll never see them again.”

“I know, but I’ll still miss them.”

Chuckling softly, Noctis ruffled the blonde’s hair. “C’mon… let’s go see if they need help packing, kay?”

“Kay,” the smaller male nodded, sliding out of the raven’s lap and their bed. With a small smile, Noctis climbed off the bed as well, stretching briefly as he did. Prompto tucked himself into Noctis’s side as they left to the twins’ room, giving a pleased hum. This made the Nightwalker smile, as he wrapped his arm around the blonde’s shoulders while they went.

When they got to the twins’ room, unsurprisingly, Zidane was running around the room, while Mikoto watched him, her stuff neatly packed in her bag.

“Having some difficulty, Zidane?” Noctis chuckled.

“Nope! Not at all!”

“I beg to differ,” Prompto snorted in amusement. Zidane merely stuck his tongue out as he pushed some of his things in his trunk. “Are you even gonna fit everything you need in there packing like that?”

“I’ll be fine!” Zidane assured, making the other chuckle.

“I take it you’re all packed and ready, huh Mikoto?” the wolf Shifter guessed as he looked at her.

“Yes,” Mikoto said with a nod.

“You know, I’m gonna miss you guys,” Prompto admitted to them with a small, sad smile.

Zidane blinked up at the blonde as he pushed his trunk shut. Finally, though, he snorted and walked over. “Dude, c’mon!” he said, slapping the taller blonde on his shoulder. “We ain’t gonna be gone forever; we’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss you,” the taller blonde pointed out.

Mikoto hummed softly, before she stood up and walked over, giving the other blonde a hug. “It’ll be okay,” she assured him. Prompto hugged her back briefly, before smiling a little.

“Promise you guys will text me?” he asked.

“No duh! Course we will!” Zidane chuckled. The wolf Shifter smiled in relief at that, before nodding.

“And don’t forget to take some pictures, okay?” he added.

“We won’t,” Mikoto said with a soft smile. Prompto nodded in satisfaction, before looking at Noctis.

“I guess Ignis is probably waiting for them, huh?” he guessed.

“Most likely,” Noctis chuckled. “May as well head over so as not to keep him waiting.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to make him throw a fit, would we?” Zidane chuckled out, making Prompto snicker. Noctis allowed a smirk of his own as they headed off, the twins carrying their bags behind them. They soon arrived at the garage, where Ignis was indeed waiting for them by the Regalia, the trunk already open for the suitcases.

“Right on time,” Ignis said as the twins approached. “Ready to go?”

“Yep!” Zidane quipped as he tossed his suitcase in the trunk, with Mikoto placing hers on top of his.

The Nightwalker chuckled softly, before he turned to Ignis. “Think you’ll be back on time?”

“It will be a close one, but I believe I can make it while still following traffic properly, yes.”

“Cool.”

“Don’t speed back,” Prompto teased, knowing full well that Ignis wouldn’t dare if he could help it. Ignis merely chuckled lightly as he moved to the driver’s seat and the twins climbed into the back of the Regalia. “Take care, guys! We’ll see you when you get back!” the wolf Shifter called as the engine was started.

Mikoto smiled and waved, while Zidane grinned and quipped, “Don’t do any stupid shit, ya hear?!”

“I won’t, but same to you!” Prompto laughed, leaning against Noctis’s side. The blonde grinned widely as he waved at the taller blonde, before Ignis pulled out of the parking spot and drove off. “And they’re gone…” the smaller male sighed once the Regalia was out of sight.

“Yeah…” Noctis murmured softly.

“Guess I’ll be caring for the Chocobos by myself for a month,” Prompto commented softly, a light note to his voice.

“Don’t worry; I doubt they’ll be much of a bother to you,” the King assured with a warm smile.

“I know, I was just messing. I bet they’ll be overjoyed when those two get back,” the Shifter chuckled.

“I’ll bet they will be.”

“Think Kuja might be willing to come back for a small visit while his younger siblings are gone?” Prompto inquired, looking up at the raven curiously.

“Hmm… he should be on break in a few days, so he might be willing to, yeah.”

“Cool! I’ll text him here in a bit, then,” the blonde smiled happily.

Noctis chuckled as they began to leave the garage behind. “Sounds like a plan.” Prompto remained tucked into the taller male’s side as they headed back inside, before pulling out his phone to text Kuja.

 

**Me: Hey Kuja, are you up?**

 

It actually took a few minutes before an answer came from the oldest Shifter.

 

**Kuja: Am now. Classes here are during daytime, dear.**

**Me: I figured, but I wanted to ask while I can, would you want to come home for your break? Zidane and Mikoto left for Lindbulm just now, and I wanna see you. It’s been a while!**

**Kuja: …Must I really?**

**Me: Please? Pretty please? I’ll beg if I have to! XD**

**Kuja: Uh-huh… sure you will.**

**Me: Do I have to have Noct take a pic and send it to you for me?**

**Kuja: If you trust him well enough with a camera…**

**Me: XP Of course I do!**

 

Prompto then looked at Noctis. “Could you take a picture of me while I’m in wolf form, begging? Kuja doesn’t believe me when I say I’ll beg for him to come home for break,” he asked with a snort.

That made Noctis almost choke on a laugh. “Hahah… sure.”

Prompto handed his phone to his lover, before shifting into wolf form and sitting down, then raising himself up so he looked like a begging dog, pouting at Noctis. ‘ _Take it, quick! I don’t know how long I can sit like this!_ ’ he said hurriedly. Noctis chuckled as he adjusted the phone’s camera, before he finally snapped a few pictures, just to be absolutely safe. Once Noctis had lowered the phone, the blonde shifted back, before taking back his phone. “Thanks,” he smiled, laughing at the pictures. “Good grief, I look pathetic!” he snorted. “These should make Kuja believe me.” He then sent a couple of them, followed with a message.

 

**Me: Here, now do you believe me??**

 

There was no immediate response from the other Shifter; likely because he was laughing on the other hand if Prompto knew him well enough.

 

**Kuja: Fine, fine. I am surprised our monarch is as well versed in photography, though…**

 

The message made Prompto blink, before he sighed with a slight shake of his head.

 

**Me: You already knew he was King, huh?**

**Kuja: Did you not, then? Dear, we’ve lived in the Citadel our whole lives. Who did you THINK he was?**

**Me: Well, remember, I wouldn’t have figured it out because I was only 5 when he found me, and I didn’t know what a King was at the time. >:P**

**Kuja: And you’ve had long enough to learn, dear. It took me less than a year.**

**Me: Yeah, yeah. I just grew up thinking it was part of life. So, are you coming home or not?**

**Kuja: Fine, dear. If I really must…**

**Me: Thank you, Kuja! :D**

**Kuja: Don’t get too used to it, dear.**

**Me: I know, but I know that you gotta miss us, too. ;D**

 

The message was read, but no response came, and it didn’t appear that Kuja was typing either. Prompto shrugged, but he was smiling nonetheless. “Looks like he’ll be coming home for break,” he told Noctis.

“Good to know,” Noctis said with a nod.

Looking at his phone again, the smaller male chuckled, “Guess he went back to sleep, too.

“Heh… Sounds like a good plan, actually…”

“I gotta admit, you’re right,” Prompto nodded, yawning slightly. With a soft chuckle, Noctis wrapped his arm around the blonde’s shoulders, guiding him back to their shared room. The Shifter was quick to change when they got back, before settling into their bed with an expectant look at the taller male. He was tired right now, to be completely honest, but if Noctis wanted to fool around a little, he wouldn’t deny him, that was for sure.

Noctis gave Prompto a look before he asked, “And just what is that look for?”

“Just waiting for you to get into bed, that’s all,” Prompto replied, pouting. “I’m innocent.”

“Uh-huh… Sure, you are,” Noctis chuckled as he finished changing.

“Okay, I’m not always innocent, but I am this time!” the blonde insisted. Noctis merely smirked as he came over and climbed into bed without a word said. Prompto curled up against him once the raven was in bed with him, kissing his jaw softly. “I love you,” he murmured.

Noctis hummed softly in turn, kissing the blonde quietly. “Love you, too…”

The smaller male kissed Noctis slowly, tenderly, meeting his lips in a series of long, slow, loving kisses.

After a few moments of this, Noctis pulled back slowly. “‘Totally innocent’, huh?”

Prompto blushed, embarrassed at having been busted. “You can’t blame me… You’re amazing…” he mumbled shyly. Chuckling, Noctis tugged Prompto closer and kissed him again. The Shifter responded eagerly, glad that he wasn’t being turned down.

Humming, Noctis pulled Prompto even closer, wrapping his arm around his waist. Prompto gave a pleased noise into the kiss at being pulled closer, wrapping his own arms around the Nightwalker’s neck. The raven moaned from the back of his throat, before he rolled over, pulling Prompto on top of him.

The blonde moaned as well, the sound muffled by Noctis’s mouth over his, before he tentatively ran his hands down Noctis’s sides. At that sound, Noctis chuckled as he pulled back. “Something wrong?”

“No, it feels good,” the smaller male assured him, pecking his lips. Noctis chuckled, before he tugged Prompto back in again, kissing him softly. Prompto hummed pleasantly into the kiss, before he started to lightly run his fingers up and down along the raven’s sides.

This made the Nightwalker hiss briefly, before he moaned, as he nipped at the blonde’s lips softly. The Shifter whimpered briefly at the nip, before moaning quietly into the kiss, his body beginning to heat up. When Noctis pulled back, he murmured, “Feels good?”

“Y-yeah,” Prompto whispered, pressing a kiss to his lover’s jaw.

“Good,” the Nightwalker purred, running the pads of his fingers along the boy’s spine. The blonde shivered lightly at the caressing touch, loving the feeling.

“So…” Noctis said suddenly, smirking. “Are you going to keep laying there or are you going to _do_ something?”

Prompto blinked a little in surprise, before gaining a cheeky look as he reached down to palm Noctis’s crotch. Naturally, this made the raven groan slightly, but he merely smirked at the blonde as he kissed him again. The smaller male wrapped his fingers around the taller male’s half-hardened cock in his pants, before remembering how Noctis would pleasure him, and copying the movements with his own hand.

This, in turn, had Noctis hissing out through his teeth. “Fuck…!” he hissed out. Prompto smirked at the response, beginning to kiss along his lover’s neck before slipping his hand past the hem of Noctis’s pajama pants and underwear and resuming his hands motions from before. This made Noctis gasp, before it devolved into a groan, as his hand curled around the blonde’s shoulder.

The Shifter smiled against Noctis’s neck, pressing one last kiss to the pale skin there before removing his hand the raven’s pants and underwear. He then slid down the taller male’s body, pulling down those obstructive clothes…right before he took Noctis’s cock into his mouth.

Noctis choked on a cry, before it shifted into a pleased moan. “Oh f-fuck… Prom…!”

Prompto smirked slightly around the flesh in his mouth, before beginning to slowly lap at it, and then closing his lips around it and applying light suction. Groaning heavily, Noctis bit his lip harshly, as he curled his hand into the sheet beneath him. Then the blonde dragged his tongue along the underside with a pleased hum.

“Agh…! Nrgh…!” Noctis choked out. Prompto was definitely pleased with his lover’s reactions, especially since he had never done this before, clearly. That’s when he took as much of Noctis’s cock into his mouth as he could, wrapping the fingers of one hand around what he couldn’t fit in his mouth, sucking harshly. “Fu…!!” Noctis hissed, burying his hand into the blonde’s hair.

The smaller male began to bob his head steadily, almost obscene slurping sounds filling the air as some saliva mixed with Noctis’s precum as Prompto sucked the taller male off.

“Shit…! Pr…Prom…!”

But Prompto refused to stop unless he was pulled off. He wanted to return the favor for Noctis by pleasuring him for once, instead of Noctis only pleasuring him. He could tell the Nightwalker was very close to coming, though, so he deep-throated him, swallowing a bit around Noctis’s cock. The Nightwalker tried to speak again, but it broke off into a choked cry as his release hit and washed down Prompto’s throat. The Shifter swallowed all of Noctis’s cum, swallowing twice, before pulling away with a somewhat smug look as he licked his lips to get rid of any remaining cum.

Noctis chuckled as he tugged the blonde closer, kissing him briefly. “You learn fast, hm?”

“Only from the best,” Prompto snickered, kissing back.

This made the other chuckle. “Well… I suppose I can’t leave you hanging, hm?” Noctis murmured, as he reached down and palmed Prompto through his own pants. The blonde gasped at the touch, before his hips bucked a little into it. He didn’t realize he’d gotten so hard himself just from sucking Noctis off. Smiling, Noctis pressed a soft kiss to the blonde’s neck, as he slipped his hand into the Shifter’s pants.

Immediately, Prompto moaned, shivering as he was teased. Noctis smiled at the sound, nipping along his throat, before he moved his hand faster. The boy had been waiting long enough, and, to be fair, they really needed to get some sleep. The smaller male didn’t think he could hold out for long, which for him, really sucked. He wanted it to keep going, but he couldn’t prolong the inevitable. As his lover moved his hand faster, he gave a loud cry of pleasure as he came into Noctis’s hand, before going limp on top of him.

Noctis allowed a soft chuckle, before he reached down and tugged the blankets over them both. “Let’s get some rest, kay?”

“Kay…” Prompto murmured tiredly, managing to snuggle even closer before whispering, “Goodnight, Noct… Love you…”

“Love you, too…” Noctis murmured softly, smiling as he let his eyes fall shut. The Shifter fell asleep not long after, a pleased sigh escaping him as he did.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the cutest I have ever made Prompto, but it’s because he’s only five years old when we started this. SO CUTE!!!!! I nearly died from his adorableness more than once!!!!


End file.
